Actress and UNHCR Ambassador Angelina Jolie, left, with daughter Zahara, and Brad Pitt, second right, with son Maddox, walk near the Gateway of India, in background, in Mumbai, India, Sunday. (AP Photo)

Madonna has outraged Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie by criticising their charity work.

The couple - who are currently in India filming their latest movie A Mighty Heart, in which Angelina stars and Brad is producing - have been left "shocked" after the Hung Up singer blasted their involvement in building an orphanage in India.

A source told Britain's Star magazine: "Angelina is shocked. She can't believe it. She was like, 'Where did that come from?' It seemed like a personal attack.

"Madonna's remarks just sound nasty. Angelina thinks the worst part of it all is that Madonna could have used the opportunity to say something that could actually be of benefit to someone."

As well as criticising Brad and Angelina's work with orphanages, Madonna - who has sparked controversy after adopting a Malawian baby called David - also trivialised Angelina's role as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.

The 48-year-old pop superstar said: "I'm not interested in going in there like an idiot and going, 'OK, I'm going to build ten orphanages and I'll see you guys later.'"

"I could've joined the UN and become an ambassador, visited various countries and just showed up and smiled and looked concerned. But that's not getting to the root of the problem. And neither is building orphan care centres."