Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia)
After just over a year on screen, EastEnders' Nina Wadia and her screen family are beginning to come into their own. Nina's character Zainab Masood hits rock bottom next week when her finances force her to close their business at Walford's Post Office, while her daughter Shabnam heads off to start a new life in Pakistan. Here, speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Nina chats in-depth about her character, Zahra Ahmadi's exit and her elusive 'other son', Syed.
The Masoods' financial difficulties have extreme consequences, don't they? Why have they let it go so far?
"With Zainab, it's a question of pride. That's one of her weaknesses and she doesn't want anyone to know she's lost control of her finances, even her own family. She keeps it to herself and thinks that she'll somehow be able to find her way out of it. Unfortunately though, she's forced to close the Post Office. Dot actually gets involved in a protest in the hope of saving the Post Office and she assumes, of course, that the government are closing it down and Zainab plays along with it. She lies, without actually lying!"
Where does Zainab's pride come from?
"We haven't actually delved into her past yet. She came from a reasonably wealthy background in Pakistan, so to then struggle over here in the UK has been a huge eye opener for her. So there's definitely a lot of Zainab that we haven't really seen yet. We know that Zainab had an affair with Masood and that she was married to a local Pakistani boy and she ended up falling for Mas because he was charming, funny and I think the fact that he was British-Asian has something to do with it - it was different for her. At the time, she'd have assumed that life would have been very different to what it ended up being, as a lot of immigrants find. A lot of people haven't seen the fun-loving, cheeky side to Zainab that Mas fell in love with. That's the idea of having a slow-burn character, though, so you get to love her, or in some cases, love to hate her!"
Why is she so pushy with her children?
"She wants the best for them. There is that mentality with Asians where education is probably the most important thing down from family. If you have education, then you know you can be independent in life and you can do anything in life to be self-supportive. She is the way she is with them in the hope of teaching them to be independent. It's funny, because one of the things people do say to me in the streets is that it's nice to see a parental character that wants more for their kids!"
The week also marks the departure of your screen daughter, Shabnam. Are you going to miss Zahra Ahmadi?
"I already do. She was really, really fun on set. We had a great relationship and we're very good friends, so I was particularly gutted that she left. It's her choice at the end of the day - she felt that she wasn't being used enough and she was brave and left. The door's open for her to come back, though."
How do you feel to be portraying one of the only Muslim families in soap at the moment?
"There is a bit of weight on our shoulders, but at the same time, I hope most people realise that it's a soap and that you do have to exaggerate some of the qualities that some people have to make the storylines interesting."
There are so many questions that remain unanswered with the family. Have we only really scratched the surface?
"Oh, definitely. It's definitely a good thing. It's great that it's been done in this slow manner. It makes characters a lot more three-dimensional when that happens, as opposed to when soaps have characters whose whole storyline comes out in their first two weeks. There's definitely more to come from the Masoods, I know that for sure."
Would you like to see the Masoods other son, Syed, join?
"I'd love to see Syed! Diederick [Santer] explained to me that when you introduce characters, that you have to do it in such a way that you can talk about them until you have to see them. That way, you really do build up a picture of someone before they turn up on the Square."
Bonus Scoop: EastEnders' Nina Wadia
Tuesday, October 14 2008, 06:00 BST
Early last week, I caught up with comedy genius Nina Wadia to chat about her forthcoming storyline on EastEnders, which sees her family's financial crisis reach boiling point and her screen daughter Shabnam (Zahra Ahmadi) leaving Walford.
Click here for the main interview. However, stick around here if you fancy reading some some bonus bits. My 'outtakes' include Nina's passion for cooking, her love of comedy and how she'd love to film a special week of EastEnders in Pakistan!
You've got an absolutely great screen rapport with little Maisie Smith, who plays Tiffany, haven't you?
"She's brilliant. She's one of those very, very rare child actors who is extremely natural. It's great to work with her."
Do you draw the inspiration for Zainab from your own experiences? How much like Zainab are you?
"Hopefully as far away as possible from her! To be honest, one of the reasons I chose to do an accent for Zainab was to make myself more different from her. There's a fine line of people out there that confuse the two, but when people do meet me, I hope that people see that we're extremely different. My inspiration from her comes from the writers. We have fabulous writers who have the ability to create this character who can be so blunt and abrasive, but at the same time get away with it because she does it in such a funny way. That's the key to Zainab for me. I want to create a character who people genuinely love to hate. It's fun to play. I've played a lot of nurses and civil servants, who are quite boring, so it's nice to be playing a bitch."
Would you like to see a special week in EastEnders where the Masoods go to Pakistan to visit their relatives?
"Oh my goodness, are you kidding me? That would be an absolute dream come true. I don't know if EastEnders has that kind of budget! It would be great if we could take some other characters with us."
We know Zainab's a good cook. Do you enjoy cooking, too?
"I love cooking, I absolutely adore it. Playing the fear of cooking as an actual fear is not an easy task for an actor! I had to really keep a straight face. That and having to say 'The Book of Spice', was another one where we had several outtakes. There isn't even a name for the fear of cooking, either!"
You've had quite a few moments on EastEnders. Do you miss the type of comedy you used to do?
"Yes, very much. The nice thing with EastEnders, though, is that they do accommodate you going off to do other things. I've got a couple of projects that I filmed prior to joining EastEnders that are coming out. There's a film I did called 'I Can't Think Straight', which is a lesbian comedy, which I hope will be out soon. There's a Radio 4 thing I did called Fags, Mags And Bags, which had one of the writers from Goodness Gracious Me contributing. So, yes, I do miss comedy, but that's why I try and make sure that there's a comic side to Zainab!"
Has there been a standout funny moment on set for you?
"Too numerous to mention! Probably one that stands out for me is my inability to say the word 'clock' correctly. I'll leave the rest to you…"
EastEnders' Nina Wadia on new film, Zainab shocks and more:
EastEnders actress Nina Wadia has spent the past two years balancing her soap commitments with a new film project, working as the executive producer of Four, a black comedy focusing on a man who hires someone to help kidnap his wife's lover in a vengeful plan.
Wadia worked alongside her composer husband Raiomond Mirza on the production, which stars Sean Pertwee, Craig Conway, Kierston Wareing and Martin Compston.
Over in soapland, meanwhile, the star's EastEnders character Zainab Masood has endured a turbulent year due to the manipulations of her ex-husband Yusef Khan - a situation which looks likely to escalate in the build-up to Christmas.
Here, Nina chats to Digital Spy about Four and her current EastEnders storylines.
How did your new film project Four come about?
"Myself and my husband Raiomond Mirza have a film production company called Oh My! Productions, and we've had that for easily over ten years. We've wanted to do something interesting with the production company for such a long time, but because we've both been working on other projects it's not happened until now.
"A couple of years ago, the script for Four landed on our desk from a writer called Paul Chronnell, and we thought it was absolutely fantastic. It was a concise piece that we knew we could put together, as we'd been hoping to make an indie film. Before we knew it, we were working on our first film project together."
What kind of a budget did you have for the film?
"It started off on a low budget, but then it expanded rather rapidly! If you ever make your first film, you'll find out that everything goes out of control due to unforeseen circumstances. So we've learned a few lessons from this one, but it's been an adventure and at least now we're prepared for our next movie."
What was it like to work so closely with your husband on a project?
"It was difficult sometimes - people say you should never work with your partner! But on the positive side, it was very exciting and it was like having our third child, because we did look at it as our baby. My husband did most of the legwork, because EastEnders was taking over my life, so he made a joke that I was the silent producer but I wasn't very silent!"
Was it difficult to fit the film in with your EastEnders commitments?
"Well, we filmed it in the coldest February that England has ever known, in a warehouse in West London. The way it would work was that I would go to work at EastEnders, come home around 7pm and look after the kids while my husband went on the set, as it was mostly night shoots. He'd then work until 7am in the morning and then we'd swap over again! So it was very, very tough.
"The whole process took about two years, from receiving the script to having the premiere later this month, but from what we've been told that's actually quite quick for a movie. The film goes on general release on October 21."
What is the day-to-day role of an executive producer on a film?
"From morning to night, it's being at the beck and call of everything that needs to be done to make the film work. That includes all of the preparation work, working with the line producer, and getting the casting done. You have to be on top of everyone's needs and make sure that everybody's happy all the time.
"My husband was also the composer of the film, so for him it was quite a learning experience too. For both of us, we have jobs in the business but not in producing, so we had a lot to learn along the way."
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What can you tell us about the actual storyline of Four?
"This is the dangerous thing about this film, as I can't tell you too much! It's about a relationship that's gone wrong, and the games that people play in trying to sort out what should be a very private, intimate thing. But I can't tell you much more than that, because there's a fabulous twist in it! If I say anything more than that, it'll give it away. All I can say is that if you want to see class acting and a great little script, go and see it. It's very, very clever."
Do you think Four would appeal to an everyday EastEnders fan?
"Yes, I do. We've been quite lucky, as we've been given a 15 certificate. I think the film will appeal to people who enjoy a bit of darkness in their lives. Having said that, it is supposed to be a dark comedy and there's a lot of humour in the dialogue, especially between the male characters. I think it would appeal quite well to the EastEnders audience."
Are the four main characters the only ones who feature in the movie?
"Yes, and the reason for that is because we were on quite a low budget for our first film, we had to keep the cast small - especially to make sure that we got the cast that we wanted. We also had to keep the locations quite concise. But it's quality and not quantity that matters. I promise you that these four characters really do hold your attention for the whole hour and a half. It really allowed each cast member to come into their own."
Have your EastEnders colleagues been supporting you with this project?
"Yes they have, and I cannot thank them enough. It's not just the actors but the whole team - everyone has been so incredibly supportive. I actually want to thank them for their support, because it's like a big family on EastEnders."
There's been lots of twists and turns for the Masoods on EastEnders this year. Have you enjoyed the recent storylines?
"Very much so! It's so nice to be able to sink your teeth into something, and I'm really going to enjoy this wave as much as I can, because I know that there'll have to be a downtime after it. It's nice to have done the comedy, but now take Zainab to quite a dark place. Hopefully she'll come out the other end."
What's it like to have Preeya Kalidas back on set playing Amira at the moment?
"It's so fun. We always tease Preeya about being the diva on set, but she's great as she takes it really, really well and she can give it back too! (Laughs) It's such a nice atmosphere between us all on set, and we actually have to get told off by the director because we laugh so much!"
From what we've heard, the current storyline with Yusef will be running until the end of the year. Are there more shocks and surprises to come?
"Oh gosh, there's definitely more shocks and surprises to come for Zainab! The scripts seem to get darker and darker each time, and every time I open a new one, my jaw drops. The coolest thing is that I've just received scripts for two weeks prior to Christmas, and those scripts have already shocked the life out of me. So goodness knows what Christmas itself will bring!
"The scripts are page-turners. When you get those scripts where you can't wait to see what comes next, that's when you know that you've got something special in your hands. I'm literally thinking, 'Oh my God, oh my God, what's going to happen next?'"
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In all the plotting and scheming, what do you think Yusef's main intention is? Does he want a future with Zainab or does he just want revenge?
"I think that's the clever thing about the way Ace [Bhatti] plays Yusef - you never really know! Sometimes when I'm playing the scenes I'm not quite sure, and I only figure it out when I watch them back. I think what Ace does is really brilliant - it unnerves me both as an actor and as a character. I personally think that somewhere in there, Yusef has a love for Zainab, but I think his primary intent has to be revenge. That's what I think as Nina, but not as Zainab. I think Zainab falls in love with him, and she actually thinks that they could love each other."
Zainab and Syed seem to be on better terms these days…
"They are, but there's always an edge with them, no matter how close they get. There often seem to be scenes where Zainab is crying with him, or if they're laughing, it only seems to last for about 30 seconds!"
If Christian and Syed do get married, do you think Zainab would be there on the day?
"At this point, definitely not! I think at the moment, Zainab can just about accept Syed and Christian being together, but actually getting married is a whole different ball game. She even says in a few scripts, 'Never' and 'Over my dead body'!"
Why do you think the Masoods have proved such a success with EastEnders fans?
"I think it's that we get on really, really well. We're all great friends, and we're very tolerant of each other and our little quirks. We know that working as a team is what produces the best work, and if we have any suggestions or ideas, we all respond to each other really well."
