Oscar winning "Slumdog Millionaire" star Dev Patel's mother spoke of her son's off-screen love with his co-star, Freida Pinto, and said "life can't get better" for her son.

Dev and Freida have always denied their movie romance spilled over into real life. But their pictures enjoying an intimate lunch date in Israel last week raised eyebrows, reports The Mirror.

"First it was the film and now everything else seems to have slotted into place. Life can't get any better for him.

Freida is really beautiful and I am really happy for them. Yes, we knew he was flying to Israel to see her, " Dev's mother Anita Patel said.

The couple are said to have started the relationship on the sets of Danny Boyle's film.