Actor-producer Akshay Kumar says the success of his film ‘Oh My God’, which has grossed more than 50 crores at the Box Office, has come as a pleasant surprise to him. The film, which released to positive reviews about three weeks back, has impressed audiences despite not being a typical Bollywood film, what with Paresh Rawal playing the central role and no lead actress.

"We knew from the very beginning that it`s a word of mouth film. We had great confidence in the concept and the script. The pattern which the film has followed, what with weekdays doing even better than the higher priced weekend, is a pleasant surprise for us too," Akshay told reporters.

While the film has received critical acclaim and Akshay`s belief in the subject has paid off, some detractors had levied charges of blasphemy against it. "Our message in the film is that of God in humanity. In today`s world we are out to please God in every way while forgetting the very basis of humanity. The idea was to make the message reach the audience and the film`s verdict proves that we have been successful in doing that," he said.

Despite being the producer of the film, the 44-year-old star was seen in a minimal role in the film, leaving Paresh to play the central character and receive all the accolades. "I do hope he leaves some awards for me. He is a thrilled man for sure," said Akshay.

The film is an adaptation of Gujarati play `Kanji Virudh Kanji`. Akshay said he is all set to produce more such films in the near future. "My new company Grazing Goat Pictures is doing just that. We should be coming with `72 Miles` next which is a Marathi film. It is already complete.

"We have short listed a couple of scripts already. After the release of `OMG! - Oh My God`, huge expectations have been built. We now have a lot of pressure to get all our next projects right to keep up the faith of the audience. We have a lot to live up to now," he said.