( CNN ) -- In her debut film , `` Slumdog Millionaire , '' Freida Pinto won plaudits for her portrayal of a girl from the slums groomed for a life of prostitution . Off screen the Hollywood actress is now lending her voice to save other girls from that very same fate . Pinto , 28 , is an ambassador for Plan USA 's Because I Am A Girl campaign , a narrator on the ground-breaking documentary film Girl Rising , which debuted on CNN , and shared a stage with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon at the launch of the World Bank 's campaign to empower girls and women around the world . The focus of all these campaigns is making sure girls receive an education , no matter where they live or what their background . Pinto 's passion for education stems from her mother and grandmother , who were both teachers in India . `` My mum still follows her dreams , '' she told CNN . `` She just retired as a schoolteacher , but she always had a dream of continuing teaching children , but this time more underprivileged children . And she 's living out her dream . It 's really inspirational . '' She added : `` My grandma was also a teacher , so I guess education , and the importance of education and how it really shapes and transforms lives , was something that was engrained in my system from the very beginning . '' Pinto , raised in a middle class family in Mumbai , broke into acting at the age of 22 when director Danny Boyle picked her for the role of Latika in the film `` Slumdog Millionaire '' , released in 2008 . The film won best film in the Oscars , Golden Globes and BAFTAs . Pinto was nominated for a BAFTA as best supporting actress . She now lives in Los Angeles with her Slumdog co-star Dev Patel , and has since starred in films including Woody Allen 's `` You will meet a tall dark stranger , '' `` Rise of the planet of the apes , '' alongside Antonios Banderos in `` Day of the Falcon '' and Michael Winterbottom 's `` Trishna , '' an interpretation of Tess of the D'Urbervilles , set in modern-day India . Originally from Mumbai , some have criticized Pinto for neglecting Bollywood , but she argues that her two films set in India portray her native country as well as any . `` They are just hardcore Indian stories and there 's no denying it , '' she said . `` It 's kind of silly to just make this whole Hollywood/Bollywood such a big debate when actually it should be about the stories that are coming from that part of the world . `` My two Indian films for many do n't count as Bollywood , which is fine . But at least they 're Indian international films and I 'm proud of that . '' Pinto has criticized the `` male-dominated '' world of film , calling for more female writers and directors to help bring more strong female characters for women of all ages . `` The only way to cure that problem is to have more female writers and more female directors , '' she said . `` There will be a different perspective when you have women writers and women directors . There is sometimes a misconception that a female director ca n't really tackle manly issues and definitely Kathryn Bigelow proves them wrong . '' So would she get behind the camera herself ? `` I believe that I 'm on my way to becoming a producer because there are so many stories that I read that I 'm so inspired by , '' says Pinto . `` I do n't necessarily see myself in them as an actor , but I 'd like them to see the light of day . So if I can help in producing that project , in collaborating with someone else , that 's another way for me to feel that in my so called male-dominated industry there is still a female voice . '' Pinto closed her Facebook account in 2009 after receiving `` unpleasant intrusions '' , but has just launched a new page , posting on education and social justice alongside photos from her travels . `` I begin a new journey with this Facebook page , '' she wrote in her opening post . `` I feel like there has been a shift in consciousness in the last couple of years where all of us have become more curious to know what is happening in the world today . '' Pinto 's next film , `` Desert Dancer , '' due out later this year , tells the true story of an Iranian dancer who risked his life for his dream after dancing was banned in the country . After that , she 's not short on ambitions , reeling off a list from Chinese director Wong Kar Wai to Ang Lee , best known for `` Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon '' , that she 'd love to work with . `` There are so many , I 'm glad I 'm just 28 with hopefully a long career ahead of me and I can keep knocking them off one-by-one , off my list . ''
Frieda Pinto 's first film was the Oscar-winning `` Slumdog Millionaire '' She campaigns for girls ' education . Pinto says the film industry needs more female writers and directors . Actress sees a future working behind the camera .