apart from comedy, has he taken up roles in other type of films?
Yes, crime drama and mystery thriller.
Robert De Niro
 Irwin Winkler's "Night and the City" was his second release, a crime drama 
what is 'meet the parents'? A comedy film. when did this film release? 2000. who is the producer of this film? Nancy Tenenbaum . what is the theme of the film? The theme revolves around  portrayal of Jewish characters' roles in modern film as well as of how male nurses are portrayed in media. can you name some characters from this film? Jack Byrnes, Dina Byrnes, Kevin Rawley, Debbie Byrnes, Denny Byrnes, Bob Banks, Larry Banks , and Greg. do you know who plays the role of the first character? Robert De Niro where is he from? Manhattan, New York City. which was his first directorial debut? "A Bronx Tale".
wiki:8710512
Robert De Niro [SEP] 1992–1997: Directorial debut and crime dramas
In 1992, De Niro appeared in two films. The first, "Mistress," is a comedy-drama in which he played ruthless businessman Evan Wright. Of his performance, the critic from "The Independent" called De Niro "more urbane and coherent than we've seen him for a while". Irwin Winkler's "Night and the City" was his second release, a crime drama remake of the 1950 film noir of the same name. He was cast as New York lawyer Harry Fabian. Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film a rating of "B-" and was critical of De Niro: "The actor who once got so far inside his roles that he just about detonated the screen – now plays characters who don't seem to have any inner life at all".