Slumdog Millionare Costars Are Dating, Mom Confirms

USMagazine, Monday, April 27, 2009, 1:28pm (PDT)

It's confirmed: "Slumdog Millionaire" co-stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto are an item.

Days after Patel, 19, and Pinto, 24, were photographed having a romantic lunch at an Israeli cafe on Wednesday, Patel's mother confirms they're together.

"First it was the film and now everything else seems to have slotted into place," Mrs. Patel is quoted as saying in Monday's Daily Mirror.

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"Life can't get any better for him," she adds. "Freida is really beautiful, and I am really happy for them."

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Asked about her son's trip to visit Pinto (who is shooting the Julian Schnabel drama "Miral" in Jerusalem), she says, "Yes, we knew he was flying to Israel to see her."

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During the trip, Patel and Pinto were spotted packing on the PDA in Tel Aviv, where they strolled around the harbor and enjoyed a champagne dinner at a seaside restaurant.

Both Patel and Pinto denied dating rumors earlier this year while they promoted "Slumdog Millionaire," which won the Oscar for Best Picture.

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"No, no, no," Patel told Ryan Seacrest at the Academy Awards.