''Dhuwan'' (, English: Smoke) is a 1994 Pakistani television series originally aired on

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. I ...

channel in 1994. The play is based on a story of five friends, who take the challenge to fight against terrorists and drug dealers. The serial is known for its neat outdoor shooting and liberal use of

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

to convey realism.

Plot

The story of this drama revolves around five young friends, each with a different background, who want to bring a positive change in

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

in order to serve their country. Azhar (

Ashir Azeem Ashir Azeem Gill () is a Pakistani-Canadian film and television director, actor, writer and former civil services officer who rose to fame through television series '' Dhuwan'' in 1994. He now hosts a political reform based web-series on his You ...

) is newly appointed as

Assistant superintendent Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held ...

of police. Earlier he had completed his engineering degree but to be able to contribute to the society, he opted for the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

job. His first placement is in Quetta, where he finds his old friends: Dawood ( Nabeel) who is a medical doctor. Their local friend Naveed also known as Nido ( Asal Din Khan) who looks after his father's business. One of their old acquaintance Wajid is a crime reporter in a local newspaper. Naveed and Wajid train with their friend Hameed who is the owner of an arms store. Azhar was being monitored by an undercover officer Sara (

Nazli Nasr Nazli Nasr is a Pakistani actress. She is known for her roles in dramas ''Dhuwan'', ''Mere Humdum Mere Dost'', ''Zamani Manzil Kay Maskharay'' and ''Zip Bus Chup Raho''. Career Nazli made her debut as an actress on Pakistan Television Corpora ...

) posing as a UN worker. She most likely was providing information to the ministry in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. Their first meeting was on a flight to

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

. Azhar is handed over a case of

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

by the ministry and he is advised to assemble a team to carry out operations which cannot be shared with the local police, to avoid any possible tip-offs to the criminals. These five friends begin to train as a crack squad. They also begin to create a computerized

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

of National Identity Cards, passports, and vehicle data.

Cast and characters

Main characters

as A.S.P Azhar: An engineer who leaves behind his job at a major corporation and enrolls as a police officer. He is stationed at a precinct in

as an

assistant superintendent Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held ...

of police. While in Quetta, he meets his old friends from college and teams up with them to rid the city of major crimes, such as

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

and similar terrorist activities. * Nabeel as Dr. Dawood: A medical doctor working at a local clinic. He rents a house along with Azhar and joins his team. He later falls in love with Uzma, a girl they rescue from Abdul Salaam's hideout in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. * Asal Din Khan as Naveed: He is known to his friends as ''Nido'', a nickname for Naveed. Naveed is employed at one of his father's factories. * Wajid Ali Shah as Wajid: A journalist working for a local

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

reporting on crimes. * Zubair Khan Achakzai as Hameed: A local arms dealer who owns an arms and ammunition shop in Quetta.

Other characters

as Sara: A female undercover agent keeping an eye on Azhar and his team. She works for an official ministerial oversight committee tasked to keep Azhar's operational activities under review and poses as a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

worker. *

Nayyar Ejaz Nayyar Ejaz (or Nayyar Ijaz) () is a Pakistani film and television actor. Nayyar has been working in television industry since the mid-1980s and became a recognized face from the early 1990s. He is famous for his supporting roles, mainly as vi ...

as Salman: A business tycoon and drug kingpin who has connections to narcotics and other criminal activities. * Rija Amir as Rija: She works for Salman. * Rauf Bhattias Ajmal: The

Station House Officer A station house officer (SHO) is the officer in charge of a police station in India and Pakistan. The Station House Officer (SHO) is a police officer of such rank as may be fixed by the government who is entrusted with the overall supervision of ...

(''thaanedar'') at the precinct Azhar is stationed at. A seasoned police officer, Ajmal is unnerved to corrupt practices in the police advising Azhar to give in to the same. * Fayyaz Ahmed Parwana as Bashir: The "singing" housekeeper at Azhar and Dawood's residence. *

Azra Aftab Azra Aftab is a Pakistani actress. She is known for her roles in dramas ''Dhuwan'', ''Manzil (Pakistani TV series), Manzil'', ''Laag (TV series), Laag'', ''Dasht (TV series), Dasht'' and ''Madiha Maliha''. Early life Azra was born in 1958 on 23 ...

as Dawood's mother

Production

Development

wrote the script for ''Dhuwan'' during his time at the

Civil Services Academy Situated in Lahore, Pakistan, the Civil Services Academy Lahore is an academy for the training of young bureaucrats who are commissioned by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) through a very competitive Central Superior Services exam, ...

where he met several police personnel. Being inexperienced at writing scripts for

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, Azeem initially wrote the story in the form of a novel and later developed it into a formal script on the advice of a

executive. Azeem's work was primarily written in English and PTV's in-house screenwriters had to translate it into an Urdu script. Azeem later revealed that the translated screenplay couldn't completely realize his conceptualization and he had to rework some parts.

Music

The background score is composed by Farrukh Abid. The serial also features a popular Punjabi song of

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), also known by his initials NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. Khan was primarily a singer of qawwali, a form of Sufi devot ...

, "Kise da yar na vichray ( کسے دا یار نہ وچھڑے)".

Reception

The drama serial was praised for its effective use of cinematography in conveying realism, especially for its live action sequences. Its popularity even compelled the Pakistani youth to join up with the police in serving the country.

Trivia

* The five letter Urdu word Dhuwan (دھواں) forms an acronym of the names of the five friends in this order: ﺩ for Dawood, ﺡ for Hameed, ﻭ for Wajid, ﺍ for Azhar and ﻥ for Naveed. * Ashir Azeem served in

Civil Service of Pakistan The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...

as AC Customs.

References

External links

TV drama serial 'Dhuwan' on IMDb website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhuwan 1990s Pakistani television series Pakistani drama television series Urdu-language television shows Pakistan Television Corporation original programming Television shows set in Quetta Pakistani action television series