KARACHI: There is a handlebar-mustached thug in all of us – or so says local Android app developer Pawail Qaisar, the creator of a mindlessly addictive game centered around everyone’s current favourite, Shafeeq Gujjar aka Gullu Butt. “Everyone is frustrated in one way or another,” Pawail says, “There is a Gullu in all of us.”While we are hoping Pawail is wrong about there being a vandal in all of us, the 10,000 downloads of his game ‘Gullu’ trumpet the appeal of the Gullu Butt phenomenon.
The first game released by Pawail’s Lahore-based company Weird Science, ‘Gullu’ was created just days after the baton-wielding hooligan became the hot subject of discussion in the National Assembly and on every television show.
The game allows a user to play Gullu Butt by smashing the windows of a parked car with the swipe at the screen. The aim is to collect as many shards of flying glass as possible.
While there is no movement or progression from one scene to another, the developers have incorporated the elements of the scene as it transpired on that fateful day in Lahore. The frame shows rows of blind policemen in riot gear standing in the background as Gullu Butt takes center stage and smashes the windows of the car with a stick. A tiny lion denoting the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N’s) evergreen mascot sits in one corner, staring at you without expression.
While the game is not without glitches – the lack of an ‘exit’ option for one – it is a good attempt by a new entrant considering the limited resources. The creators have also remarkably mimicked real-life Gullu Butt’s pre-strike position to the tee. Behold:
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Pawail says he is a proponent of promoting Pakistan’s culture and celebrating its heroes, which led him and a six-member team to create an exciting game with a local spin.
“By playing Gullu, people can at least vent part of their frustration in a comical way,” he adds.
The app maker said that creating the app itself was a fun experience and the response has been overwhelming.
He says the team is currently working on the development of a FIFA World Cup app which is going to hit the Google Play Store and Apple App Store next week.
Another project in the pipeline is ‘Namaloom Afraad’, slated for release in a few weeks.
The Gullu fever
These memes and tweets speak for themselves.
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This meme incorporated Gullu’s app version
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The incredible Gullu
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Gullu in DDLJ
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Gullu Theft Auto
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Gullu vs Titanic
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Gullu’s own ride
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