Exclusive Pics:Freida Pinto and Dev Patel on a date

They have always denied that their on-screen romance spilled over into real life.

But if Freida Pinto and Dev Patel really are just friends, as they claim, then they are very close ones.

The Slumdog Millionaire stars were spotted enjoying an intimate lunch together in Israel, where Miss Pinto is filming on location.

Sources said that Patel, 18, had flown all the way out there for just a quick visit with her.

An onlooker at the lunch said: ‘They looked very close. They sat side by side and looked into each other’s eyes. At one stage, Freida leaned in towards him and rested her head on his shoulder.’

The Indian actress, 24, is starring in filmmaker Julian Schnabel’s latest project Miral.

The pictures of her lunch with Patel add weight to comments made by their Slumdog co-star Anil Kapoor, who said earlier this year that the young couple had a ‘magical chemistry’.

Asked on a radio show if there was any romance going on while they were in India, he said: ‘As I matter of fact, when I meet them I feel there is something happening.’

‘She says I have to look after him and I have to babysit him and that kind of stuff, [but I think] this is the beginning of something exciting happening. They definitely make a great pair. Both of them look very good together.’

Friends and colleagues have said that the pair became closer as they toured the world promoting Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning film.

Patel had previously starred in Channel 4 drama Skins, while Miss Pinto is a former model and presenter.

She has already hit the headlines for breaking up with her fiancé, public relations executive Rohan Antao, to concentrate on her career.

A spokesman for Patel declined to comment on his relationship with Miss Pinto.

Freida Pinto is infatuated with Dev Patel

Rohan Antao, Freida Pinto's fiance, has spoken to British weekly News Of The World about their split. The issue hit stands on Sunday, just before the Oscar ceremony went underway.

Antao blames Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire for the reported romance between Freida and her co-star Dev Patel, six years her junior.

"She ended it with me after getting close to Dev Patel. Now everywhere I go I see them on billboards. I am devastated," the 24-year-old Antao said.

About the Oscar-winning movie, he stated, "I hate the film. It wrecked my relationship. As soon as it became a success and Freida started spending all her time with Dev, she ended it," he added.

Antao, a Mumbai-based marketing executive, said the two met six years ago. He proposed to her in 2007, but Slumdog Millionare changed their life.

"The film bosses didn't want her to be engaged. It would affect the whole emphasis of the film the love story. I had no say in it."

He further claims that he was forced to lie to Danny Boyle about their relationship when they met at a party. "He was very down to earth, but I had to lie all evening and say I was Freida's boyfriend, not her fiance."

Angry SMS

After seeing Freida with Dev at the Toronto Film Festival in September, Antao said he sent Dev an angry text message saying: "You do know she is engaged, don't you?" Dev did not reply.

"I feel bitter towards Dev. If you are engaged to someone, the last thing you want to be thinking about is whether Dev Patel is telling her how wonderful she is," Antao said.

He said he and Freida broke off last month after she called him. "She is infatuated with Dev. I don't know if they were having a sexual relationship but if I came face to face with him I would have things to say."

"I wish her success in her career," he added.

Dev and Freida spotted shopping for ring

Slumdog Millionaire stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto have fuelled dating rumours after being spotted shopping for a ring on Valentine’s Day.

The report comes after their co-star Anil Kapoor recently revealed he could feel “the beginning of something exciting” between the two.

The 18-year-old lad was seen taking his six-year-senior “lady love” to a High Street jeweller’s on Oxford Street – and left without purchasing anything.

“Dev and Frieda seemed completely smitten with each other. They spent 15 minutes in the jeweller’s and were quite happy to sign autographs and talk to fans,” the Sun quoted an onlooker as saying.

“They paid particular attention to one of the cabinets which was full of the more expensive rings stocked by the store chain.

“They didn’t buy anything in the end, but they certainly spent plenty of time studying the range,” the onlooker added.

Something happening b/v Dev and Frieda

Freida Pinto and Dev Patel, stars of the Indian-themed movie Slumdog Millionaire, may be dating in real life, according to their co-star Anil Kapoor.

Kapoor told an American radio station the pair, who play childhood sweethearts who find love in and out of slums, had a "magical chemistry".

"As a matter of fact, when I meet them I feel there is something happening," Kapoor told Ryan Seacrest's Morning Show on Los Angeles-based KIIS FM.

"But she says 'I have to look after him' and 'I have to baby sit him' and that kind of stuff... (I think) this is the beginning of something exciting happening.

"They definitely make a great pair. Both of them look very good together," Kapoor said, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Pinto, 24, and London-based Patel, 18, were spotted recently sharing Oreo cheesecake at a bakery in Los Angeles and have become close as they travelled the world promoting their film, the paper reported Friday.

Pinto, a former model, split with her fiance last month.