Actor Sunil Grover, known for his light-hearted parts in TV shows, made a successful transition to serious roles with "Zila Ghaziabad", but says comedy is still tougher than essaying intense characters.

In the Anand Kumar-directed film, Sunil played Fakira, who works with gangster Mahinder Fauji in Ghaziabad.

"I never expected my character to be such a success. It has been much more than my expectations, " Sunil, who was not the first or second, but the sixth choice for the role, told.

He doesn't interpret his character as negative in "Zilla Ghaziabad", and prefers to describe it as a sharp and selfish guy.

"I did not take it as a negative character and I did not try to act like a villain. I took it as a guy who had his own ambitions and is selfish. He schemes and plots for his benefit. The story makes Fakira negative, " he said.

After playing light-hearted roles in TV shows like "Gutur Gu" and "Has Baliye" and the movie "Ghajini", he admits he was apprehensive about doing a character with grey shades on the silver screen.

"It was initially a very difficult thing for me. I was not sure whether after doing comedy for so many years, will people accept me in such a role?

"Then I thought it is not about doing comedy or something else. If you want to do something beautiful, it surely shows in your work. But overall, comedy is little more difficult than doing serious roles, " he said.

Sunil currently hosts SAB TV's show "Safar Filmy Comedy Ka".

Thanks to the response to his role in "Zila Ghaziabad", Sunils is charged up.

"I am very encouraged. I am meeting some people regarding new scripts and films. Currently, I don't have TV commitments, so I am just looking forward to good cinema, " said the actor.