Lee was adamant that an unknown was needed for Pi, so he put out casting calls for 3, 000 young actors across India.

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But he accepts that the Raspberry Pi foundation, having successfully launched the hardware, now needs to focus on its original educational objective.

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"They can wear little French rosettes if they're for 'Les Miserables' or a tiger print somewhere if they like 'Life of Pi, ' " he says.

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