1 The Bullet Train (1975) – Japan
Remade as: Tezz (2012)
The suspense of a possible terror plot aboard a high-speed train makes up the story of both The Bullet Train (1975) featuring Japanese actor and martial artist Sonny Chiba and recently in Tezz (2012) with an all-star cast of Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn and Kangana Ranaut. The Bullet Train showed off Japan's busiest high-speed rail line while Tezz took place in the United Kingdom on a high-speed train from London to Glasgow.
2 A Better Tomorrow (1986) – Hong Kong
Remade as: Aatish: Feel the Fire (1994)
The whole world stood up and took notice of director John Woo with his 1986 film A Better Tomorrow starring Chow Yun Fat and Leslie Cheung that quintessentially defined Hong Kong cinema. The Hindi remake was director Sanjay Gupta's directorial debut and starred Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Pancholi and Atul Agnihotri in key roles. In 2010, an official South Korean remake of the film was released; John Woo was its executive producer.
3 My Sassy Girl (2001) – South Korea
Remade as: Ugly Aur Pagli (2008)
One of South Korea's biggest hits based on online musings by Ho-sik Kim has been remade into several different languages – from English to Japanese to Telugu. The Hindi version dubbed Ugly Aur Pagli featured Ranvir Shorey and Mallika Sherawat gave the inebriated a club anthem with 'Talli'.
4 The Eye (2002) – Hong Kong
Remade as: Naina (2005)
The supernatural Hong Kong thriller The Eye chronicles the journey of young blind girl who is given an opportunity to see again through a corneal transplant which leads her to view apparitions in her everyday life. It was later remade into Naina (2005) with Urmila Matondkar in the lead; a Hollywood version featuring Jessica Alba released in 2008.
5 Oldboy (2003) – South Korea
Remade as: Zinda (2006)
The second film in Park Chan-wook's Vengeance trilogy, Oldboy (2003) features an astounding Grand Bell-winning performance (he ate a live octopus for a crucial scene) from lead actor, Choi Min-sik, as man imprisoned for 15 years and later released to avenge his captor. The original Oldboy was awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival by Quentin Tarantino in 2004. The Hindi remake, Zinda (2006) was shot in Bangkok and reunited Sanjay Gupta and Sanjay Dutt yet again.
6 A Moment to Remember (2004) - South Korea
Remade as: U Me Aur Hum (2008)
This romance of love and loss marred by Alzheimer's disease from South Korea won the Best Adapted Screenplay at the Grand Bell Awards in 2005. Originally a Japanese drama series, A Moment to Remember was remade into Ajay Devgn's directorial debut U Me Aur Hum (2008) starring Devgn and his wife Kajol which was lauded for its lead pair's acting. The film also borrowed its flashback storytelling from the crowd-pleasing Hollywood tearjerker The Notebook (2004).
7 Three Times (2005) - Taiwan
Remade as: Teri Meri Kahaani (2012)
Celebrated Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien's Three Times, nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, shared three different romances in three distinct eras. Kunal Kohli's Teri Meri Kahaani starred former flames Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra who reunited three times onscreen as different characters – in 1910, 1960, and 2012.
8 A Bittersweet Life (2005) – South Korea
Remade as: Awarapan (2007)
This joint production between India and Pakistan is a remake of the South Korean gangster film A Bittersweet Life (2005) in which the right hand man of a dreaded mobster suddenly finds himself going against orders when he is asked to keep an eye on his mistress. Actor Lee Byeong-cheol's character literally crawls back from the dead in A Bittersweet Life while Awarapan's storyline focused on the doomed romance between Emraan Hashmi and Shriya Saran.
9 Cavite (2005) - Philippines
Remade as: Aamir (2008)
Actor Rajeev Khandelwal made his film debut with this critically acclaimed remake of the Filipino blockbuster Cavite (2005) of helpless man who is forced to assist terrorists in their mission as his family is kidnapped. Raj Kumar Gupta made his debut as writer and director in Aamir; he went to direct No One Killed Jessica (2011) and Ghanchakkar (2013).
10 Seven Days (2007) – South Korea
Remade as: Jazbaa (2015)
Kim Yun-jin, who won worldwide fame as Sun on ABC's Lost, returned to South Korea to take on the role of single parent and lawyer in the thriller Seven Days; she won the Grand Bell for her performance. The Hindi remake, Jazbaa, marks the comeback of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan opposite co-stars Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi and Jackie Shroff. Unsurprisingly, Sanjay Gupta directed this version.
11 The Chaser (2008) – South Korea
Remade as: Murder 2 (2011)
The second film in Vishesh Films' Murder franchise is a remake of the top South Korean films and winner of the Grand Bell Award for Best Film, The Chaser (2008), which follows an immoral former cop and the lengths he goes to find a woman he mistakenly leads towards a serial killer. Murder (2004) was a remake of the Richard Gere-Diane Lane starrer Unfaithful (2002) while the next film in the franchise Murder 3 (2013) was an official remake of The Hidden Face (2011) from Columbia.