Hollywood has served as an inspiration to several Bollywood filmmakers for decades but now directors are exploring newer pastures such as French, Korean and Japanese cinema, , as reported by Hindustan Times.

Indian film director Ramesh Sippy who last directed Shah Rukh Khan's Zamaana Deewana in 1995 is returning to the industry with an adaptation of the French film De Vrais Mensonges (2010).

Karan Johar is slated to remake the 2006 French hit Hors De Prix with Sidharth Malhotra in a lead role, while another French film The Intouchables (2011) will be adapted by director Mohit Suri.

According to reports in the Indian media, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s comeback film Jazbaa is believed to be a remake of the 2007 Korean thriller Seven Days.

"Most Hollywood studios have set up shop in India, so filmmakers here can’t just lift their film’s ideas like earlier," said Jazbaa director Sanjay Gupta. "Also, if they have the rights, won’t they produce them on their own?"

India's trade analyst Komal Nahta said the Indian audience has become receptive to new concepts: "At one point, we would say, ‘women-oriented films don’t work.’ But that has changed now. The taste of the audience has changed, and they have an appetite for world cinema.

"But since it’s (taking cues from international films and books) a new phenomenon, how well these films will do is something only time will tell," said Nahta.

While many Bollywood films like Total Siyapaa (2014), Only Human (2004) and CityLights (2014) have been inspired by world cinema, they haven’t yielded desired results.

Explaining why more filmmakers are opting for Japanese or Korean scripts, Indian film producer Anees Bazmee said that buying the rights of these films is comparatively cheaper than Hollywood films.

"Ultimately, all creative people always look for a good script — be it from Japan, Korea or south Indian cinema. Language is never a concern," Bazmee added.

Filmmaker Rohan Sippy, who directed romantic, comedy film Nautanki Saala (2013), an adaptation of the 2003 French comedy Après Vous, said: "Indians are emotional, and world cinema — in the absence of big budgets — focuses more on fleshing out characters and scripts, which resonates with our audiences’ taste."

Bollywood filmmakers are also taking cues from novels and stories for their upcoming films.

Fawad Khan and Sonam Kapoor's upcoming film Battle For Bittora is an official adaptation of Anuja Chauhan’s 2010 best-seller, while upcoming Bollywood film Fitoor which is directed by Abhishek Kapoor and stars Aditya Roy Kapoor, Rekha and Katrina Kaif in pivotal roles is inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic 'Great Expectations'.