Telangana-based self-taught artist with muscular dystrophy makes celebrity sketches

Hyderabad-based Swetha Eepuri cannot walk without support, but her celebrity pencil sketches travel far and wide in the hearts of admirers. Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy — a genetic disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness —Swetha is a self-taught artist whose story is one of quiet resilience, making her mark one sketch at a time.

On the first floor of her home in Sahara Estate, Auto Nagar, Swetha sits by her favourite corner with an adjustable table, sheets of drawing paper, and her wheelchair. Neatly filed beside her is a growing collection of pencil portraits — actors and actresses from the Telugu film industry, cricketers, and politicians — each rendered with remarkable precision.

Stress with health issues

A native of Vellanki village in Nalgonda district, Telangana, Swetha once dreamed of becoming a doctor, but her family was preoccupied with her health concerns. “I was weak as a child and suffered frequent falls. We went from hospital to hospital, but no one could identify the condition,” she recalls.

Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 2005, Swetha moved with her family to Hyderabad for her intermediate education, but her health continued to decline. “Earlier it was frequent falls, but over time the muscle weakness worsened, affecting my strength. Even climbing stairs became difficult,” she says.

Tryst with art

With a deteriorating condition, doing even basic tasks became tough and she stopped education after B Pharmacy. Confined to home, her life was relegated to a chair and needed a wheel chair for any mobility. During this difficult phase, Swetha sketched a lonely girl looking out of a window to express her emotions. “I had no knowledge of art, but I sketched to show how I felt,” she recalls. Sharing the drawing with friends lifted her spirits and gave her a new sense of purpose. “Even I was surprised I could manage a decent sketch on my first attempt,” she adds with a smile.

YouTube soon became her classroom, helping her learn shading, layering, outlining, and working with skin tones and lighting. In 2015, she posted her first celebrity sketch on X (formerly Twitter) — of actor Prabhas during the release of Baahubali: The Beginning — and the appreciation, even from strangers, was a huge morale boost. “I made mistakes with the eyes and nose, but the encouragement pushed me to continue,” she says.

Actors like Manchu Manoj and Sai Dharam Tej later liked her sketches on X, drawing the attention of fan clubs and widening her reach. Working only with her thumb and forefinger, Swetha uses charcoal and graphite for her portraits. She prefers sketching celebrities and often times her posts with movie releases or milestones — her recent sketch for Mahavatar Narasimha drew 700,000 views on X and 207,000 on Instagram.

Through this eight-year journey, her biggest support has been her father, Krishnaiah, a weaver, her mother, Bharathi, a homemaker, and her brother, Ramesh. “I don’t want people to pity me or like my art because of my limitations. That’s why I never post about my condition. I want my work to speak for me and inspire anyone who doubts their own abilities,” says Swetha dreams of opening an art school someday.

Her works can be seen on @swethaeepuri on X and Instagram