Trust Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar to switch things up, and surprise everybody. The handsome, macho hero has done the unthinkable, by lavishing heaps of praise on the new heartthrobs in town Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh!

At a recent media interaction for his upcoming production Fugly, Akshay was Mr. Congeniality, when he spoke of his young competitors. Akshay has been known to be the kind of hero to snip fellow hero’s roles and never really promote anybody else, so what he said came as a total surprise to everyone present.

Said Akshay, when asked who in his opinion, can take over the mantle of superstardom from the Khans and himself, “I think Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and others are doing well. In my eyes, they are next superstars.”

Adding that today’s newcomers are focussed and balanced, Akshay said: “When we came as newcomers we needed support but today’s newcomers don’t need it… they are fit, good, mentally balanced, and professionally better than us. The way they are going is good. There is no need to teach them… they have knowledge about everything. I think they need support of their family (than us).”

Akshay Kumar himself has seemingly taken a risk by casting newcomers in his film Fugly (the film stars Olympic boxer Vijender Singh and Anil Kapoor‘s nephew Mohit Marwah). However, Akshay said he was quite confident that the risk would pay off.

“In every film there is a risk whether I act in films or the films that I produce. I am confident about the film,” said the He-Man of Hindi cinema.

Fugly, directed by Kabir Sadanand, releases in May 2014. Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar will also be busy promoting his next action-starrer Holiday, which is directed by A.R. Murugadoss.