JOIN USA 17-year-old Delhi boy Suraj Sharma has been cast as the lead protagonist in the movie, which begins shooting next year.
Bollywood actress Tabu is in talks to play Pi's mother while the 'Slumdog Millionaire' star will play the adult Pi, while Hussain 'For Real' will pay Pi's father, Variety reported online.
Lee, best known for his films like 'Brokeback Mountain', 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' and 'Sense and Sensibility', will shoot 'Life of Pi' in 3D.
He is directing the film from an adapted script by David Magee, which is set to open in theatres on December 14, 2012.
The story follows Pi Patel as he travels from an exotic zoo in India on a voyage across the Pacific, where he survives a shipwreck and is cast adrift in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger as his only company. In his daunting journey Pi, struggles to survive and train his companion.