If you’re planning to carry fresh flowers on your next flight, take a note from recent experience of Navya Nair in Australia. And, leave them at home.
Malayalam actress Navya Nair recently faced an unexpected hiccup at Melbourne Airport, all because of a bunch of jasmine flowers in her bag. She had arrived in the city to join the Onam celebrations organized by the Malayali Association of Victoria.
But what was a celebratory visit soon became an expensive lesson in the laws of international travel.
Airport officials detected approximately 15 centimeters of jasmine flowers in her carry-on. According to Australian biosecurity and customs legislation, you can’t carry fresh flowers and plant products.
These regulations exist to save Australia’s agriculture and environment from possible pests and diseases. Due to this, Navya was struck with a fine of 1,980 Australian dollars. This amounts to approximately ₹1.14 lakh.
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Navya decided to tackle the issue with humor. She posted a lighthearted video on social media, making light of the airport gaffe for her followers. In the video, she is having airport food, entering the flight, shopping, and gracefully walking in a traditional Kerala sari, jasmine flowers in her hair. The background track of the video has the popular song ‘Onam Mood,’ and she captioned it playfully: “Visuals just before I was fined.”
The actress has been a household name in the entertainment world for more than 20 years. She entered the industry in 2001 with the movie ‘Ishtam’, and quickly became a popular name with successes like ‘Mazhathullikkilukkam’ and ‘Kunjikkoonan’.
After marriage, Navya took a break from films but continued to be present in the TV industry. Now, she is a judge for the reality show ‘Kidilam’ with Mukesh and Rimi Tomy.
Navya returned to films in recent years. She played Seetha in ‘Drishya 2’ (2021), which received positive reviews from critics and performed well at the box office. Her second film, ‘Oruthee’ (2022), directed by V. K. Prakash, had her playing Radhamani, a middle-class woman and boat ticket collector who is struggling to make ends meet while her husband is working abroad.