Sneha Mahadevan (DNA; March 12, 2015)

Freida Pinto attended the US premiere of the controversial Leslee Udwin documentary India’s Daughter, which has been banned in India. The actress was joined by Hollywood actress Meryl Streep and Dakota Fanning and together, they lit about a dozen candles honouring the documentary and also paid tribute to the medical student who died in the 2012 gang-rape.

Pinto was very vocal about her support for the documentary and insisted that the ban be lifted and said that the film deserves to be shown to the people in India. She said, “Ultimately, this is a film that needs to go out. This is not a shame-India documentary.”

She also added that though India has been in the focus for crimes related to women, no country is free from any of these crimes either. “This is not just an India problem; this is a problem that inflicts almost every country in the world. There’s not a single country in 2015 that is free of sexual violence against women.”

Farhan Akhtar, too, was present at the NYC premiere. The actor, too, took to his social networking account to express his feelings after the screening of the documentary. He wrote, “Watched #IndiasDaughter last night at the US premiere in NYC. Raises some serious questions about the concept of masculinity. The filmmaker’s intent is clear. It is not to defame India, but to use an event that reverberated around the globe as the basis for her study. The director’s focus on the aftermath (public outrage/protests/amendment of law) speaks volumes of our vibrant democracy. I humbly appeal to the concerned ministry that they lift the ban on this film. Its only effect is that of introspection.”

Others present at the event included Freida’s ex-boyfriend Dev Patel and Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin.