Rashmi Rustagi, an award-winning actor and filmmaker based in the San Francisco Bay Area, has written, produced, and starred in Designed by Preeti, a feature film about a woman in her fifties who leaves an abusive marriage and rebuilds her life through dress design. The film is now streaming on Prime Video in the US and UK, where it holds a 4.5 out of 5 rating.
Designed by Preeti has won four awards: a Gold Remi Award at the Houston International Film Festival, the Best Feature Audience Award at BraveMaker Film Fest, Best Narrative Feature at the Red Cedar Film Festival, and Silver in Feature Film at the 47th Annual Telly Awards. Its director, Gayatri Everitt Bajpai, was nominated for Best Director at North Hollywood Cinefest. The film was also featured at the Reelworld Film Festival in Toronto and has been reviewed by more than 10 outlets, including Take 2 Indie Review, Influx Magazine, One Film Fan, Just for Movie Freaks, NRI Pulse, India West, India Currents, Khabar, American Kahani, New India Abroad, and Bold Journey.
Rustagi tells stories from inside the community, not about it from the outside. Designed by Preeti draws from true stories; much of its dialogue comes from real conversations, and its writer, director, and producers are all women of color. Most of the principal cast are professional actors over 50 who are also people of color, which is still remarkably rare in American film. Rustagi also helped create the dresses Preeti wears on screen. For those seeking films about South Asian women starting over, the movie offers a rare portrait of resilience.
“Silence protects the wrong people. My films break that silence for women who have never seen themselves on screen, and remind them that whether you’re 40 or 60, it’s never too late to take the fabric of your old life and make something that finally fits,” said Rashmi Rustagi, award-winning actor and filmmaker.
The film has been taken into communities through screenings in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, and the San Francisco Bay Area, in partnership with six domestic violence organizations: Raksha, Maitri, Narika, SAHARA, Daya, and CORA. Each screening includes post-screening Q&As and panel discussions, turning the events into spaces where viewers can share their experiences and find real support. This October, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Rustagi is using Designed by Preeti to bring that conversation to as many people as possible.
Rustagi’s core audience is South Asian and immigrant women, especially women over 40, who rarely see their lives, struggles, and second acts reflected on screen. Beyond that, her films reach anyone who loves heartfelt, character-driven dramas about resilience and starting over. She also works with community organizations, including domestic violence nonprofits, cultural associations, universities, and women’s groups, that host screenings for awareness, education, and healing. As an actor, she works with casting directors, filmmakers, and production companies that bring her into their projects.
Born and raised in India, Rustagi grew up surrounded by stories never spoken aloud: what women endured quietly to keep the peace and protect the family’s name. She started acting in radio and theater from a young age. After moving to the United States and raising a family, she worked on projects like The Avengers, Grey’s Anatomy, and Never Have I Ever. But she kept noticing that women like her, South Asian women and women over 50, were rarely at the center of the story.
So she started writing her own. Her first short film, Unborn, was inspired by true events about a mother pressured to abort her unborn daughter in the hope of a son. When it found success at film festivals and then on Prime Video in 2021, she felt validated as a storyteller who could make a real difference. That gave her the courage to take on her first feature, Designed by Preeti. The pandemic made it urgent; domestic violence rates were rising sharply, and women were trapped at home with their abusers. Drawing on the experiences of friends and a close relative, she wrote, produced, and starred in the film, and she has been taking it to audiences ever since.
Rustagi now has two films on Prime Video, including Unborn. As an actor, she has credits in more than seven major film and television projects, including The Avengers, Grey’s Anatomy, and Never Have I Ever, and she acted in Bienvenidos a Los Angeles, which was shortlisted for the 2024 Academy Awards. She was also recently honored by the Indo-American Community Federation. She is currently writing her next feature, a thriller comedy set on a road trip.
Rustagi’s films do not end when the credits roll. She builds each one into a community conversation, with post-screening panels and partnerships with domestic violence organizations, so viewers leave with resources, not just emotions. As she puts it, her films do not only entertain; they open doors to conversations that families and communities have avoided for generations.