Storylines
Tamwar is a studious fellow who works hard on his studies to please his parents, Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia) and Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra). They are delighted when he achieves five A grades during his AS Level exams, with Zainab boasting that Tamwar will be attempting to get a place at either Cambridge or Oxford University. Tamwar uses his intellect to help his parents set up their own business, Masala Masood, a Pakistani take away service. This evolves into a fast food market stall, which Tamwar helps run with his friend Waseem (Richard Charles). Tamwar's secrecy concerns his mother, and she concludes that he is gay, but it transpires that Tamwar is hiding his new hobby as a stand up comic. He shocks his mother by announcing that he wants to pursue comedy as a career, but later retracts and agrees to apply to Oxford. However, he fails to achieve the grades he needs for his place at Oxford, but does not confess this to his family. When his brother Syed's (Marc Elliott) fiancée Amira Shah (Preeya Kalidas) forces Tamwar to do so, he confesses to his family that he cannot go to university. He then sets up his own website, Rude Masood, where he impersonates Walford's residents.
At Syed and Amira's wedding, Tamwar meets up with Afia Khan (Meryl Fernandes). He tells her he has never kissed a girl, so she kisses him. A few days later, they go out to lunch, and Tamwar ends their brief romance. When he receives his A level resit results, they are worse than the first time he took them, so he decides to give up trying to go to university. When Syed and Christian Clarke (John Partridge) resume a homosexual relationship, Tamwar is angry with his mother for acting like Syed is dead, and is generally supportive of Syed. Tamwar starts to grow tired of being single, especially as his best friend Darren Miller (Charlie G. Hawkins) is in a relationship with Jodie Gold (Kylie Babbington). He starts seeing Afia again and meets her father Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti) who approves of him. Yusef arranges to meet Zainab and Masood, but he is revealed to be Zainab's ex-husband whose family set her on fire for infidelity. Tamwar tells Afia they cannot see each other again. The next day Afia visits Tamwar and tries to persuade him to reconsider. Tamwar refuses, saying he has to respect the will of his parents. Zainab and Masood buy the local Indian restaurant, the Argee Bhajee, saying it is for Tamwar to run, but he does not want it. Syed arranges for Afia to see Tamwar, and they spend time alone in the restaurant. Masood discovers this and again bans Tamwar from seeing her. However, they continue to see each other, and Masood and Zainab allow it, hoping it will fizzle out, until Afia continues to mention her father, so Masood asks her to break up with Tamwar. She blames her father so Tamwar asks Masood to speak to him. When Yusef discovers they are still seeing each other, he assumes they are to marry and gives his blessing, much to Masood and Zainab's despair. They arrange the mangni (engagement party) and Yusef and Afia decide it should be a big party.
When Masood accuses Afia of lying that she has never been with anyone before Tamwar, Afia fears it will ruin their relationship. Although Masood realises he has made a mistake, Tamwar and Afia marry in secret on the day before their mangni. At the mangni, Tamwar is about to tell his family that they are already married when they are interrupted by Syed's entrance and the roof collapsing. They then decide against telling anyone as Tamwar's parents are facing financial difficulties. However, when the new couple learn that Masood kidnapped Yusef and threatened him, this leads to Masood being banned from the couple's mehndi, causing a strain between Tamwar and his father. However, at the mehndi, Tamwar and Afia admit their secret marriage to the family (including Masood who turns up uninvited), and the couple begin living with each other at the Masood family home.
Afia reveals to Tamwar that it was Yusef that set Zainab on fire and not his family, and Tamwar loses trust in Afia. Tamwar walks off and Afia goes to find him. Tamwar returns and hears that Afia is in the bed and breakfast where a fire has broken out, so he enters to save her, but she is not inside. Afia returns and Yusef is killed, while Tamwar exits with full-thickness burns to his back and in need of a skin graft. While Tamwar recovers in hospital, he refuses to see Afia, whom he blames for lying to him and he continues to ignore her when he arrives home, but she reminds him that she is still his wife. Masood then reveals that Yusef hit Zainab, and Tamwar says he wishes he had never met Afia. Eventually he starts to talk to her, but does not allow her to see his body, changing in the bathroom. He shows her his scars after being convinced to do so by a friend, and she is shocked. When Tamwar and Afia discover that Zainab has inherited all of Yusef's money and that she wants him and Afia to take it, Tamwar repeatedly declines the offer, saying that he wants nothing to do with his money and that they should get rid of it. Tamwar then decides to leave Walford after discovering that Afia planned to spend the money on surgery for him. However, he is later convinced to stay by Zainab and his friend Fatboy (Ricky Norwood). Tamwar tells Afia that if she does not like him as he is, she should leave him. The pair reconcile, but their marriage is put under strain by the long hours at the restaurant, and Zainab's interference in their affairs. Afia eventually leaves him as she finds that her and Tamwar want different things and that remaining in Walford will make her unhappy. Tamwar struggles to run the restaurant and Syed takes over but he steals money from it and does not pay the mortgage, leading to it being repossessed, and it is revealed that Zainab lent Syed money from Tamwar's college fund. Tamwar accuses Zainab of favouring Syed, and Masood tells her to leave for keeping secrets. She does so, and Tamwar decides to go back to college, but then decides to take over Zainab's job in the local shop to help with the family's finances. Zainab soon returns, and she and Masood set a date for their wedding, but Tamwar is upset when they break up for good and Zainab returns to Pakistan, taking Tamwar's young brother Kamil (Arian Chikhlia). Tamwar wants to go to University but in order to earn money he takes a job as the local market inspector.
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