Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has spoken of her outrage after it was announced that India’s Daughter, a documentary telling the true story of the gang rape and murder of a medical student, would be banned in India.

In a series of tweets, the 30-year-old Indian actress says that “facts are a reality we need to face head on and tackle” and even tweeted the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to watch the film.

Earlier, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the parliament the comments of Mukesh Singh, one of five men convicted over the 2012 attack in New Delhi, in the documentary were “highly derogatory and an affront to the dignity of women”.

And Freida, who grew up in Mumbai, has been urging on social media for the ban to be lifted.

Speaking earlier as an ambassador for Plan International, which is a charity partners of Leslee Udwin’s film India’s Daughter, Freida said: “The shocking brutality of the gang-rape and murder of my Indian sister Jyoti Singh is an extreme example of the violence women and girls face globally every day. It has to stop.

“And it will stop. Through my work with Plan, I’ve met young girls the world over with the most amazing strength and courage.

“I’ve seen that with the right support girls can stand up to violence, assert their rights as equal human beings – in India and beyond – and bring about the change we need.

Freida Pinto
(Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

“And more importantly, I have met boys and men who will also join us in our fight for equal rights. We are only stronger when we come together as one.

“So I’m calling on girls and women, boys and men everywhere to watch this incredible film and then take action. Where you see abuse – report it. Where you witness discrimination – speak out.

“Let’s make sure that Jyoti Singh’s ultimate legacy is a world free from violence against women and girls.”

Jyoti Singh, a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, was beaten and gang raped in a private bus in which she was travelling with a male friend in Delhi in 2012.

She died 13 days later while undergoing emergency treatment in Singapore.

India’s Daughter will be broadcast on BBC Four’s Storyville at 10pm tonight.