For Rustagi, storytelling is ultimately about opening doors to conversations that might otherwise never happen. With Designed by Preeti, she reminds audiences that starting over has no expiration date.
California-based actor, writer, and producer Rashmi Rustagi has built a career around the idea that storytelling can do more than entertain. Born and raised in Lucknow, India, Rustagi has appeared in films including The Avengers, India Sweets and Spices, and Hungry, along with television roles in Grey’s Anatomy, Atypical, and Never Have I Ever. She also appeared in Bienvenidos a Los Angeles, a short film shortlisted for the 2024 Academy Awards.
But it is through her own projects that Rustagi has increasingly used filmmaking to confront difficult subjects and amplify stories that are too often pushed into the background. Her award-winning short Unborn tackled female feticide within the Indo-American community. Her latest project, Designed by Preeti, expands that mission into a feature-length story exploring domestic abuse, mental health, interracial relationships, and the ability of a woman over 50 to reclaim her independence and begin again.
Rustagi wrote, produced, and stars as Preeti, taking on three very different responsibilities in bringing the character’s journey to the screen. Since completing the film, she has continued that work beyond the movie itself, partnering with domestic violence organizations and participating in screenings and discussions designed to encourage audiences to talk openly about issues that frequently remain hidden behind closed doors.
Now available on Prime Video, Designed by Preeti also represents something Rustagi considers essential: putting women of color, immigrants, and performers over 50 at the center of stories rather than relegating them to the background.
INFLUX spoke with Rustagi about Designed by Preeti, the challenges of independent filmmaking, representation, finding strength in a second act, and why she believes silence can sometimes protect the wrong people.
INFLUX: What are you currently working on?
Quite a lot, happily. As an actor, I recently wrapped roles in a couple of feature films, which has been a joy; there is something freeing about stepping onto someone else’s set and simply serving their story.
At the same time, I am deep in the marketing and publicity push for my feature film, Designed by Preeti, which is now streaming on Prime Video. Getting a film made is only half the work; getting it seen is the other half. That has meant community screenings with post-screening panels, partnerships with domestic violence organizations, press outreach, and a lot of time on social media. Every screening reminds me why I made the film in the first place, because the conversations that follow are as powerful as anything on screen.
And I am writing my next feature, a thriller comedy set on a road trip. After two films about heavy subjects, I want to try something lighter and funnier, though anyone who knows me will guess there is a social thread running underneath the humor. A road trip forces very different people into a very small space, and that is fertile ground for both comedy and truth.
Somewhere in between, I keep the garden growing and the recipes coming on Rashmi’s Recipes, which helps me stay grounded through it all.
INFLUX: What are your hopes/expectations/goals for your current project?
My biggest hope for Designed by Preeti is simple: get as many eyes on the film as possible and keep the conversation going. The film explores domestic abuse, mental health, interracial romance, and a woman finding her strength after 50, and these are subjects that are still whispered about in many communities, including my own. A film can open a door that a lecture or a pamphlet never will.
What has moved me most on this journey is what happens after the credits roll. Our post-screening Q&As and panel discussions have been robust, thought-provoking, and at times deeply emotional. People stand up and share stories they have never told anyone.
Survivors find each other in the audience. Partnering with domestic violence organizations like Raksha, CORA, Maitri, Narika, SAHARA, and Daya has turned each screening into a platform where viewers feel seen and heard, and where they can find real resources. Now that the film is on Prime Video, my goal is to carry that same spirit into living rooms everywhere; I want people to watch it, talk about it with their families, and feel a little less alone.
INFLUX: What have been your greatest challenges in your journey?
Funding, without question. Indie filmmaking is a constant balancing act between what the story needs and what the budget allows, and my challenge has always been protecting the creativity so it never gets compromised by the bank balance. Every dollar has to be stretched, every favor called in, and every decision weighed against whether it serves the story.
Closely tied to that is the lack of resources: small crews, limited shooting days, no marketing machine behind you. As an independent filmmaker, you wear every hat; I wrote, produced, acted, raised money, and am now handling distribution, publicity, and social media. It is exhausting, but it has also taught me resourcefulness. Constraints force you to be inventive, and some of the moments I am proudest of in the film came from finding a creative solution instead of an expensive one.
INFLUX: What have been your greatest accomplishments so far?
My most significant accomplishment is not an award, though I am grateful for each one. It is building a platform through filmmaking and storytelling to raise awareness about issues that are seldom talked about and that I am deeply passionate about. With Unborn, I brought female feticide into the open within the Indo-American community. With Designed by Preeti, I have been able to do the same for domestic abuse and mental health.
When a woman comes up to me after a screening and says, “That was my story, and I can relate to this movie,” that is the accomplishment. Holding up a mirror for people who have rarely seen themselves reflected, and knowing the work has given someone the courage to speak, is more meaningful to me than any trophy.
INFLUX: Tell us about some of your past projects and where we can watch them if they’re available?
Unborn is a short film I wrote, produced, and acted in, and it is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Inspired by true events, it tells the story of a mother of two girls who is pressured by her family to abort her unborn daughter in the hope of a son. It is a hard subject, but one that needed to be confronted.
Designed by Preeti, my feature film, is now available to rent on Prime Video, and you can find the watch link at designedbypreetimovie.com.
As an actor, I have been fortunate to work on projects such as The Avengers, India Sweets and Spices, and Hungry, and on television in Grey’s Anatomy, Never Have I Ever, Atypical, and Better Things. I also appeared in the short film Bienvenidos a Los Angeles, which was shortlisted for the 2024 Academy Awards.
INFLUX: What goals do you have moving forward?
As a mother of four, I have spent a lifetime creating spaces where people gather, talk, and feel nourished, and that is exactly what I want to keep doing on a bigger scale. Whether through film, cooking, or gardening, my goal is to keep building community: places where people can come together, share their stories, and discuss the issues that matter without shame or judgment.
Professionally, that means continuing to write and produce films that give voice to underrepresented stories, particularly those of women, and continuing to act in roles that reflect the fullness and complexity of women my age. I also want to keep growing my food and gardening platforms, because I have learned that a shared meal or a shared harvest can open a conversation just as powerfully as a film can.
INFLUX: Why do you choose such difficult subjects for your films?
Because nobody else was telling these stories, and silence protects the wrong people. Female feticide, domestic abuse, mental health: these are realities in every community, but in mine they are often hidden behind the idea of family honor. I believe art has a responsibility. If I can use a film to make one family have an honest conversation, or one woman feel less alone, then the difficulty is worth it.
INFLUX: What was it like to write, produce, and star in the same film?
Exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure. As the writer, I knew Preeti’s inner life intimately; as the actor, I had to let go of the writer and live in the moment; as the producer, I had to worry about the schedule while doing both. What made it possible was surrounding myself with a team I trusted, led by our director Gayatri Everitt Bajpai. Our writer, director, and producers were all women of color, and that shared perspective shaped every frame.
INFLUX: How do cooking and gardening fit into your life as a filmmaker?
They are my grounding. Filmmaking can be relentless, and the garden teaches patience; you plant, you tend, you wait. Cooking is how I show love, and my food blog and YouTube channel, Rashmi’s Recipes, grew out of that. Honestly, all three are the same impulse: creating something with my hands that brings people to the table.
INFLUX: What does representation mean to you?
It means a woman over 50, a woman of color, an immigrant, gets to be the lead, not the mother in the background. In Designed by Preeti, most of our principal roles are played by professional actors over 50 who are also people of color. I wanted audiences to see that our stories are not niche; they are universal stories of love, courage, and reinvention, simply told through faces we rarely see at the center of the screen.
INFLUX: What do you hope audiences take away from Designed by Preeti?
That it is never too late to reclaim your life. Preeti starts out sewing dresses from saris and ends up finding her voice, her strength, and her own definition of success. I hope viewers, especially women, walk away believing that their second act can be their best one, and that asking for help is an act of courage, not weakness.
INFLUX: What advice would you give to your younger self just starting out?
Do not wait for perfection. There is no perfect opportunity, no perfect script, and no timing is perfect. If I had waited for all the stars to align, I would still be waiting. Take the opportunity when it presents itself, do the best you can with what you have, and trust that you will learn on the way.
I would also tell her: your age, your accent, your background, your skin color, and your life experiences are not obstacles; they are your material. The stories only you can tell are the ones the world most needs to hear. Start now.
Read the INFLUX review of Designed by Preeti.
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