How Nayanthara’s Minor Passport Issue At KLIA Incited Drug-Trafficking Headlines

IN the past week, Indian media blogs were abuzz with news on popular actress Nayanthara‘s trip to Malaysia.

All of them agreed that after arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to shoot Iru Mugan in Malaysia with Indian superstar Vikram, she was held up for some time at immigration. But each reported different events following the episode.

Nayanthara, who plays a secret agent in the upcoming thriller by Anand Shankar was soon enough accused of being a meth-trafficker.

Although the underwhelming reality was a simple stamping issue the actress sorted out herself, it’s the shocking twists and turns which online media gave the story which forms the highlight of the entire episode.

Reports quickly fell into three separate camps — one upholding Nayanthara’s virtue by insisting it was all a misunderstanding, another deeming she had used a fake passport and was being detained, and our favourite: that she was trafficking shabu and could be locked up in Malaysia for “a year”.

Official statements from the film’s publicist has since clarified matters, but given the damage this has already done for her image, the team has allegedly taken action against irresponsible members of the media.

Online blogs have also alleged that the film’s production filed a complaint against Malaysian immigration for circulating photos of Nayanthara’s passport scan and images of the actress in detainment. But it was later apparent that the photo of the actress in a white room with unidentified individuals was in fact a production still.

So did Malaysian immigration really circulate photos of her passport? At this point, we no longer know who or what to believe.

In any case, the Deccan Chronicle reports that Iru Mugan is being shot in Shah Alam and Putrajaya. The film was originally scheduled to hit our shores in July last year, but a series of cast changes saw production delayed till December 2015. Iru Mugan will also be shot in Chennai, Ladakh and Bangkok.

Director Anand Shankar, a New York Film Academy alumni, is a fairly young director known for Arima Nambi (2014) and Dynamite (2015). Iru Mugan marks his first major attempt at a star-studded blockbuster.

A release date has not yet been announced but is expected within the next month.