Zaair Kazemi

Shabnam Masood
Rakhee Thakrar as Shabnam Masood (2014)
EastEnders character
Portrayed by	Zahra Ahmadi (2007–2008) Rakhee Thakrar (2014–2016)
Duration	2007–2008, 2014–2016
First appearance	Episode 3400 17 July 2007
Last appearance	Episode 5224 5 February 2016
Created by	Diederick Santer
Introduced by	Diederick Santer (2007) Dominic Treadwell-Collins (2014)
Classification	Former; regular
Profile
Other names	Shabnam Kazemi
Occupation	Post office worker Shop assistant Pharmacist
Zahra Ahmadi as Shabnam Masood (2008)
Father Masood Ahmed Mother Zainab Masood Brothers Syed Masood Tamwar Masood Kamil Masood Husband Kush Kazemi (2015–) Sons Zaair Kazemi Daughters Jade Green Uncles Inzamam Ahmed AJ Ahmed Nieces Yasmin Masood First cousins Jamila Inzamam Ali Inzamam

Shabnam Masood (also Kazemi) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Zahra Ahmadi from 2007 to 2008, and by Rakhee Thakrar from 2014 to 2016. Shabnam's first appearance was on 17 July 2007. On 8 September 2008, it was reported that Zahra Ahmadi had quit the show, as her character was not given enough "meaty storylines". Ahmadi made her final appearance as Shabnam on 24 October 2008. Thakrar took over the role on 1 December 2013, and Shabnam returned on screen on 13 January 2014. Thakrar quit her role as Shabnam after two years being on the show and made an unannounced departure on 5 February 2016.

Shabnam's storylines during her first stint in the show include a feud with her mother Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia), friendships with Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon) and Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley), her failed engagements with Muslim men and her difficulty acknowledging her family and religious roots. During her second stint on the show, her storylines include a friendship with Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner), a relationship with Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami), the revelation that she has a secret daughter, Jade Green (Amaya Edwards), whose father is Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), delivering a stillborn son named Zaair, and suspecting an affair between Kush and Stacey. Shabnam left the square with Jade, leaving Kush behind after she made the decision for him to stay with his son Arthur whose mother is Stacey.

Shabnam, the daughter of Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) and Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia), appears initially as a university graduate, who is undecided what career path she wants to follow. She has aspirations to travel and makes plans to leave Walford but is forced to rethink when she discovers her parents are struggling financially. Shabnam's lack of direction, friendship with Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon) and recreational activities anger Zainab, causing friction between mother and daughter. Zainab tries to set Shabnam up with Jalil Iqbal (Jan Uddin) and invites him to stay with the family and work in their post office for a while. Shabnam is initially against this as she remembers Jalil as a "geek" from her childhood, though when she sees him, she is attracted to him. Zainab sets them up with a romantic meal, listening in on their conversation using a baby monitor. Shabnam discovers that Jalil has a girlfriend, though Zainab sees a picture of her and says she is ugly and that her make-up looks like it has been done by Edward Scissorhands. Shabnam later bumps into Jalil on a night out in R&R nightclub, where they flirt. Jalil and Shabnam later share a kiss, but during a conversation with the Masood family, he says that he thinks modern Muslim women like Shabnam provide "great entertainment" but are not marriage material. Zainab is offended by this and sends him away.