He may have proved his mettle as a performer with films such as Kaminey, Haider, Padmaavat, but Shahid Kapoor says initially it was not easy for him to score versatile characters.

The 37-year-old actor, who made his Bollywood debut with college romance Ishq Vishk, said it was tough for him to break out of the ‘chocolate boy’ image.

“I have always tried to get good and versatile roles. I wanted to show my versatility. But nobody used to offer me such scripts. They used to think that I am only suitable for chocolate boy and college student roles. There were no other options,” Shahid said in an interview.

The actor said it was sheer hard work and perseverance that helped him in convincing the filmmakers that he has much more to offer than just being a lover boy.

“It's been 15 years since I have been working in the industry and after much hard work, now I am being offered diverse roles. Today, I feel very fortunate that people also think of me as an actor who plays a variety of characters," he said.