Slumdog star's 'secret husband'

THE star of Slumdog Millionaire has been hiding a secret husband whom she ditched after the film became a hit, it was claimed today.

Freida Pinto, 24, is said to have married Rohan Antao at a ceremony in Goa in December 2007 but last month ended their relationship. The couple were previously thought only to have been engaged.

Pinto, a model who landed her first film role with Slumdog Millionaire, is expected to attend the Oscar ceremony on Sunday night but without her former partner whom she met at college.

Newspapers in India are reporting the wedding took place in Mr Antao's home town after the couple made an "impulsive" decision to marry. Reports suggest Pinto had a dress specially made five days before the ceremony. The Mumbai Mirror published a photograph of the dress, made by a local designer.

Their relationship appears to have foundered in the wake of Slumdog Millionaire's success. Pinto, who plays the main love interest, was nominated for a Bafta and the film won a Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a cast. It is claimed that Mr Antao, a Mumbai-based executive, supported Pinto during filming but "she just stopped calling him" at the time of the Golden Globes this year, according to reports today.

"He is completely shocked at being dumped and is heartbroken," a friend said.

The Times of India reported a friend saying: "[They] were deeply in love with each other. Rohan and Freida had decided to keep their marriage a secret till they felt ready to talk about it openly. Even though she has dumped her husband now, he is not the kind who will go out and speak against her.

"They had decided that they would get married in Goa, which is Rohan's hometown. They had booked a hotel for the wedding.

"Freida had given the designer just five days to make her gown as the wedding had to take place in late December 2007. They were together even when she completed shooting for Slumdog Millionaire. But once the film started making waves internationally she decided to dump Rohan."

This month Mr Antao changed his relationship status on Facebook from "committed" to "single".

It is suggested Pinto, who plans to move to New York to build up her acting career, had been unhappy when Mr Antao wrote "engaged" in his relationship status.

Pinto has steadfastly refused to talk about her private life despite all the publicity surrounding Slumdog Millionaire, which is the favourite to scoop best film and best director Oscars.

Her agent in India, Meenakshi Gehani, said last night: "We do not want to comment. However, if she is married then whoever is claiming it should produce a marriage certificate."