Canvas Of Dreams: How Indore Helped Self-Taught Artist Paint His Way To Netflix

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In a quiet studio near Bengali Square, Indore, Suryabhan Meravi works quietly among hundreds of brushes and canvases.

Once an engineering student, today he is known nationwide for creating a portrait of Salman Khan using only his tongue—an act that aired on The Great Indian Kapil Show on Netflix.

Originally from a small tribal village in Balaghat district, Meravi arrived in Indore after scoring 89% in Class 10 and 80% in Class 12. He was admitted to SGSITS for mechanical engineering, a path expected of him. But something else pulled at him.

“I realised I wasn’t meant to be an engineer. I wanted to become an artist,” he said.

That realisation led him to slowly step away from academics. A college painting competition became his turning point—he won first place and used the prize money to buy art supplies. From there, Indore became his canvas. His rented room turned into a mini-studio, where he painted late into the night.

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Art had always been part of him. Born mute until the age of four, Meravi learned to express himself through drawings. In his village, he sculpted toys from mud when he couldn’t afford store-bought ones. School teachers later recognised his talent and encouraged it.

In Indore, surrounded by mentors and supporters, he began experimenting with new styles. After facing repeated rejections from television talent shows, one piece of advice stuck with him: “Do something different.” That’s when he decided to paint with his tongue.

“It was risky, but I knew I had to stand out,” he said.

That risk paid off. On 21 June, millions saw him create a tongue-painted portrait of Salman Khan on Netflix. “When I finished, I saw tears in his eyes. He came up, shook my hand and said, ‘What you’ve done is extraordinary,’” Meravi recalled. The painting now hangs in his studio, signed by Khan himself.

Though his parents remain in Balaghat, Meravi calls Indore his second home—where his dream began to take shape. Local artists like Chandan Kishore Gupta and supporters like his former landlord remember him as hardworking and self-made.

Now aiming for America’s Got Talent, he continues painting with the same intensity. "Indore gave me space to fail and the courage to begin again,” he said.

From village silence to Netflix applause, Meravi’s story proves that sometimes the brush knows the way—even when the world doesn’t.