Exclusive | Navya Nair clarifies: Carrying flowers wasn't intentional; requests Aussie authorities for fine waiver
Navya Nair shares how she ended up with a fine of AUD 1,980 for carrying Jasmine flowers. However, she emphasis that it was not an intentional act.
Malayalam actor Navya Nair found herself in a soup when the she was fined a sum of AUD 1,980 ( ₹1.14 lakh) at Melbourne Airport for carrying a jasmine gajra without declaring it to the Australian customs. The actor has now written to the Australian agricultural department, requesting for the fine to be waived off as she didn’t do this intentionally.
In an exclusive conversation with HTCity from Singapore, the actor says, “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 in the beginning of my travel.”
Also Read | Navya Nair fined in Australia: What can you carry while travelling abroad?
Now moving forward, the actor has reached out to the Australian agricultural department via mail, requesting them to waive of the penalty.
{{/usCountry}}Now moving forward, the actor has reached out to the Australian agricultural department via mail, requesting them to waive of the penalty.
{{/usCountry}}“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 have just send 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,” says the actor.
{{/usCountry}}“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 have just send 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,” says the actor.
{{/usCountry}}Navya, who has been part of films such as Janaki Jaane (2023), Oruthee (2022) and Nandanam (2002) amongst others, does wish that this issue didn’t become so big.
“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,” says the actor, who also shared that it took her quite a lot of time to go through the process and exit the airport to enter Melbourne, where she had gone to attend Onam celebrations hosted by Malayali Association of Victoria.
The actor hopes that everyone will learn from her experience and not miss out on the important travel details.
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,” she says. She added that the declaration form is a “very small paper”, which can be easily missed by travellers.
