Dev Patel was missing on Pinto’s 30th birthday.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: Actress Frieda Pinto is upset over being linked romantically to aspiring actor Siddharth ‘Sid’ Mallya, the US-born son of Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya, after photographs surfaced of her showing some sexy pole dancing moves on a parking meter outside a strip club in Las Vegas, happily drunk, to celebrate her 30th birthday.
Pinto, whose career has slumped, after her big break and international acclaim in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, has reportedly been in a steady relationship with actor Dev Patel, her co-star from Slumdog Millionaire, for the past six years.
In an interview to The Hindustan Times, Pinto termed Patel and herself as “soul mates”, adding “nothing changes that,” perhaps referring to the night out with the Mallya scion. She made it clear that she is not dating Mallya, who has made numerous lists in the past few years as being one of the most eligible bachelors in India.
Sid Mallya, the name he has put down with the Actors Guild in the US, as he looks to kick start his acting career and not be stereotyped with a very Indian name, had dated Bollywood beauty Deepika Padukone for a year, before the two broke off, in 2012.
Talking about her infamous birthday bash romp outside the Royal Palace strip club, Pinto added: “It was a bunch of young people having fun. That’s it. There was nothing more to it. Sid happened to be in Los Angeles, and we are part of the same friends circle. I don’t even know how these rumors even started.”
In interviews, she has come down hard on the Indian media, for linking her with Mallya: “Let me tell you, these stories were only started by the Indian media and not anyone else. The reports which were carried internationally were that I was drunk. Which I feel was fine as, once in a while, everyone should be able to let their hair down and have some fun.”
There has been no word of why Dev Patel was missing from the fun party that night. Mallya has also remained silent on the issue.
In those photos from her birthday bash, Pinto, wearing a short dress, looked like a gymnast too, as she put one leg high revealingly, with Mallya seemingly supporting her. Maybe she was still in the frame of mind of her recent documentary ‘Desert Dancer’ or maybe she wanted to show her naughty, sexy mood like she displayed in the ‘Gorilla’ video with Bruno Mars. Who knows the mind of a 30-year-old woman? Who knows what went through Mallya’s mind?
For Pinto, who has spoken for the rights of girl children, it might be a good idea to be a better role model for the girls she advocates for, and to let her hair down, and legs up, in private.