Sumith Naval is an actor who made his debut in the Malayalam film industry with the 2007 cult film Big B, directed by Amal Neerad. He played the role of Bijo John Kurishingal, one of the four adopted sons of Mary Teacher, who seek revenge for her murder. The film starred Mammootty in the lead role of Bilal John Kurishingal, along with Manoj K Jayan, Bala and Mamtha Mohandas in other important roles.
Recently, in an interview with Milestone Makers, Sumith Naval opened up about his journey and revealed how he got the opportunity to act in Big B. He said that he was working as an assistant director in Bollywood, where he met Amal Neerad, who was the cinematographer of the same film. Amal Neerad offered him the role of Bijo, which he happily accepted for three reasons.
One was his passion for acting, as he is the brother of famous actress Simran Naval, who has acted in several Tamil and Hindi films. Second was his admiration for Mammootty, who had a huge fan following across India. Third was his trust in Amal Neerad, whom he considered as a born filmmaker.
Sumith Naval said that he did not get many offers from Malayalam cinema after Big B, as he had a limitation in speaking the language fluently. He also said that he did not have much contact with his sister Simran about films. He said that he moved to Mumbai and got busy with directing films instead.
He also shared his memories of working with Mammootty and Nafisa Ali, who played Mary Teacher in Big B. He said that Mammootty was very supportive and helpful to him during the shooting. He also said that Nafisa Ali was one of the nicest persons he had ever met.
Sumith Naval said that he is not part of Bilal, the sequel to Big B, as his character died in the first part. However, he said that he is acting alongside Mammootty in another upcoming film titled Bazooka, directed by Deeno Dennis. He also said that he has acted in other Amal Neerad films like Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded and Comrade in America.
You can watch Big B on Disney+ Hotstar here.
You can also read more about Sumith Naval on IMDb here.