Source says Pinto may be next Bond girl

Freida Pinto from "Slumdog Millionaire" arrives at the 81st Academy Awards in Hollywood on February 22, 2009. (UPI Photo/ Roger L. Wollenberg)

LOS ANGELES, March 15 (UPI) -- Mumbai-born actress Freida Pinto, star of "Slumdog Millionaire," could soon be the next female star of a James Bond movie, a source says.

An unidentified source said Pinto has been asked by Barbara Broccoli, who produces the James Bond spy films, about serving as the next Bond girl, People.com reported Sunday.

The source said the 24-year-old beauty, who starred as Latika in "Slumdog," has been in the sights of Bond creators before the franchise's last installment, "Quantum of Solace."

"Freida came to the attention of the Bond team when they were casting 'Quantum of Solace,'" the source said, but "she was too young at the time to have a part as a love interest for a secret agent."

Pinto recently parlayed her "Slumdog" fame into an Indian Vogue magazine cover shoot and a deal with the Estee Lauder cosmetics group, People.com said.