Malayalam actor Navya Nair landed in a pickle recently, when she was fined AUD 1,980 (Rs 1.14 lakh) at Melbourne Airport in Australia, for carrying jasmine flowers (gajra) without declaring it to the Australian customs. She went to participate in the Onam celebrations organised by the Malayali Association of Victoria. Now, in a recent interview, Navya opened up about her ‘shock’ to the ‘significant penalty’. She also revealed that she has requested the Australian agricultural department to waive off the fine.
During a conversation with HT City while still in Singapore, the actor said, “I was kind of shocked. It’s a significant penalty. The thing is that I was not carrying flowers in my bag. The flowers were on my hair, so it was nothing hidden but I didn’t declare it because I missed it out. They mentioned parts of plants and flowers are included that. The sniffer dogs sniffed it because I had kept the flowers in my bag at the beginning of my travel.”
To take further action, Navya Nair has reached out to the authorities on mail, to forgo the fine. “I have 28 days time for payment. They also told me that I can send a mail telling all these details to the agriculture department. So, I sent them a mail that night itself. I am just waiting for a reply. I have asked them to waive off the amount and if they don’t waive off then I had read it in many articles that they charge 300 dollars and they charged AUD 1980 and it is written 6 units, so I don’t know what it is. As a foreigner I had no idea,” she added.
Elaborating how she doesn’t want the issue to become big, she expressed, “It’s the law of a country and I have to abide it. I have no other option. I requested them and tried to tell them that it was not intentional. On a humanitarian aspect they can simply take the flowers and keep it there. They could have let me go because I didn’t have any intention but I think it depends on the officers so I cannot comment on that.”
“My issue has become very popular with all the Malayalis, so they will be more alert in doing things. These rules are quite strict and very rigid. So it’s not very easy. The declaration form is a very small paper, which can be easily missed by travellers,” the actor concluded.
On the work front, Navya Nair is known for films like Janaki Jaane (2023), Oruthee (2022) and Nandanam (2002). She will next be seen in Pathirathri, a police drama, co-starring Soubin Shahir, and Varaham. It is set to hit the theatres on October 30.
Why was Navya Nair fined?
As per Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, up to six small boxes or bouquets of fresh flowers can be brought in on a flight or cruise ship, but only after they have been declared. This is because flowers and live plants may carry biosecurity risks such as insects, bacteria, viruses and fungi. When they are declared, they are verified by biosecurity officers as being free from pests can be brought into Australia.