Washington, February 28 : The number of people willing to help some of India's poorest children has suddenly increased on the back of the multiple award-winning success of Danny Boyle's film `Slumdog Millionaire'.

According to ActionAid, the film's portrayal of poverty in the slums of Mumbai has provoked an unprecedented increase in enquiries by those willing to sponsor Indian youngsters.

"We''re calling it the slumdog effect," Contactmusic quoted the charity''s fundraising director, Richard Turner, as saying.

"We haven''t seen such a high level of interest in one country for a long time," he added.

Turner revealed that ActionAid received about 1,400 enquiries about child sponsorship in the week after the film won seven Baftas, up from its weekly average of 500 calls.

He said: "Child sponsorship has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and is one of the most rewarding ways of giving. Sponsors'' money helps towards securing a decent education, better health care and economic security for children and the communities in which they live." (ANI)