The stars of Midnight's Children attended the film's premiere at the 56th BFI London Film Festival October 14, Digital Spy said.

The controversial British novelist and writer of the film's screenplay Sir Salman Rushdie, who won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1981 for the novel from which the film is adapted, took to the red carpet with director Deepa Mehta and stars Charles Dance, Siddarth, Sathya Bhabha and actress Shriya Saran.

Other stars attending the premiere included former EastEnders actress Preeya Kalidas, Billy Connelly and author Kathy Lette.

The story depicts the experiences of Salim and Shiva, whose lives are intertwined set against the backdrop of India's transition from British colonialism to independence and the partition of India.

The film has been deemed contentious due to its critical portrayal of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi portrayed by Kama Sutra actress Sarita Choudhary.

The film also stars Seema Biswas, Shabana Azmi, Anupam Kher, Siddharth Narayan, Rahul Bose, Soha Ali Khan, Shahana Goswami, Anita Majumdar and Darsheel Safary.

The film adaptation has secured distribution in India despite its controversial subject matter.

It was earlier suggested that Rushdie's voiceover would have to be dropped before the movie could be released.

Midnight's Children is scheduled to release on December 26.