India's censor board has sparked outrage after banning a film called Lipstick Under My Burka about sexually liberated women.

The movie tells the secret lives of four women including a college student who wears a burka, and a 55-year-old who rediscovers a sex life after the death of her husband.

But India's Central Board of Film Certification has described it as 'lady-oriented', contained 'audio pornography' and that it would not clear the Hindi film for general release.

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India's censor board has sparked outrage after banning a film called Lipstick Under My Burka (pictured) about sexually liberated women

The movie tells the secret lives of four women including a college student who wears a burka, and a 55-year-old who rediscovers a sex life after the death of her husband

A letter, the board wrote: 'The story is lady oriented, their fantasy above (sic) life. There are contanious (sic) sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography and a bit sensitive touch about one particular section of society, hence film refused under guidelines (sic)...'

The move has sparked a furious response from the director and is the latest case to highlight fears over creative freedom in the country.

The letter was sent last month and came to light this week after Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar tweeted about it. A copy of the letter was seen by AFP on Friday.

'Lipstick Under My Burkha' is directed by Alankrita Shrivastava and won an award at the Tokyo International Film Festival last year. It also aired at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in October.

One character portrays a young small town girl nurturing her dream to be a singer, while another girl takes 'naughty' selfies.

'Lipstick Under My Burkha' is directed by Alankrita Shrivastava and won an award at the Tokyo International Film Festival last year. It also aired at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in October

Indian Bollywood actress Konkona Sen Sharma plays one of the main characters in 'Lipstick Under My Burkha'

Shrivastava described the CBFC's ruling as an 'assault on women's rights'.

'For too long the popular narrative has perpetuated patriarchy by objectifying women or minimising their role in a narrative,' she said in a statement carried by the Press Trust of India news agency on Thursday.

'So a film like "Lipstick Under My Burkha" that challenges that dominant narrative is being attacked because it presents a female point of view. Do women not have the right of freedom of expression?,' Shrivastava added.

The filmmakers can approach the CBFC's appeal panel and Shrivastava said she would fight the ruling.

Social media users took to Twitter to mock the film board's ruling.

One, Heena Khandelwal, told the CBFC to 'grow up' while Neeraj Ghaywan, a film director, wrote: 'Privileged men have an issue with sexually liberated women. 'Cannot be issued' is a ban. Let's call it that.'

India's censors have a long history of barring movies and cutting scenes, including those deemed too racy or capable of causing religious offence, and filmmakers accuse them of intolerance.

In 2015 the CBFC blocked the release of a toned-down version of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and deemed two James Bond kissing scenes unsuitable for an Indian audience.