Hyderabad-based Swetha Eepuri can not stroll with out assist, however her celebrity pencil sketches journey far and extensive within the hearts of admirers. Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy — a genetic dysfunction that causes progressive muscle weak point —Swetha is a self-taught artist whose story is one in every of quiet resilience, making her mark one sketch at a time.
On the primary flooring of her dwelling in Sahara Estate, Auto Nagar, Swetha sits by her favorite nook with an adjustable desk, sheets of drawing paper, and her wheelchair. Neatly filed beside her is a rising assortment of pencil portraits — actors and actresses from the Telugu movie business, cricketers, and politicians — every rendered with outstanding precision.
Stress with well being points
Sketches by Swetha Eepuri… Prabhas, NTR and Sai Pallavi
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Special Arrangement
A local of Vellanki village in Nalgonda district, Telangana, Swetha as soon as dreamed of changing into a physician, however her household was preoccupied with her well being issues. “I was weak as a child and suffered frequent falls. We went from hospital to hospital, but no one could identify the condition,” she remembers.
Sketching celebrities
Allu Arjun, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan, Balakrishna, Vijay Deverakonda, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Rashmika Mandanna, Anuskha Shetty, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni.
Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 2005, Swetha moved with her household to Hyderabad for her intermediate training, however her well being continued to say no. “Earlier it was frequent falls, but over time the muscle weakness worsened, affecting my strength. Even climbing stairs became difficult,” she says.
Tryst with artwork
Swetha Eepuri
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Special Assignment
With a deteriorating situation, doing even primary duties turned robust and he or she stopped training after B Pharmacy. Confined to dwelling, her life was relegated to a chair and wanted a wheel chair for any mobility. During this tough part, Swetha sketched a lonely lady looking of a window to precise her feelings. “I had no knowledge of art, but I sketched to show how I felt,” she remembers. Sharing the drawing with pals lifted her spirits and gave her a brand new sense of function. “Even I was surprised I could manage a decent sketch on my first attempt,” she provides with a smile.
YouTube quickly turned her classroom, serving to her be taught shading, layering, outlining, and dealing with pores and skin tones and lighting. In 2015, she posted her first celebrity sketch on X (previously Twitter) — of actor Prabhas throughout the launch of Baahubali: The Beginning — and the appreciation, even from strangers, was an enormous morale increase. “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 preferred her sketches on X, drawing the eye of fan golf equipment and widening her attain. Working solely with her thumb and forefinger, Swetha makes use of charcoal and graphite for her portraits. She prefers sketching celebrities and sometimes instances her posts with film releases or milestones — her current sketch for Mahavatar Narasimha drew 700,000 views on X and 207,000 on Instagram.
Sketches by Swetha Eepuri… MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli
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Special Assignment
Through this eight-year journey, her largest assist has been her father, Krishnaiah, a weaver, her mom, 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 desires of opening an artwork faculty sometime.
Her works could be seen on @swethaeepuri on X and Instagram
Published – September 11, 2025 11:41 am IST
