Like many of us, Preetika Rajgariah was raised on a diet of archetypal love stories.
Whether in the form of fairy tales, mythology, love letters, operatic duets, Disney movies or – as in Rajgariah’s case – Bollywood films, these oft-repeated stories become culturally ingrained from childhood and inform our expectations of future relationships. Their recurring themes, such as distressed damsel saved by dashing hero, bad boy redeemed by good woman, adversity conquered by true love or unrequited passion ending in tragedy, teach us lessons that tend to reinforce traditional gender roles and stereotypes.
Reproducing cherished and pivotal moments from these films, Rajgariah transforms them by boldly inserting herself into the narrative.
Filled with nostalgia and cinematic in scope, Between Frustration and Fulfilment beckons viewers into a world where conventional love stories take an unexpected twist.
Rajgariah came of age in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the heyday of the romantic comedy, when love stories bloomed like flowers. Inspired by Bollywood classics Asoka (2001), Devdas (2002), Khal Nayak (1993) and Main Hoon Na (2004), the artist’s latest body of work is both a love letter to the media that shaped her formative years and a subtle critique of their restrictive picture of romantic relationships.
The same iconic scenes she had grown up watching are recast as she steps into the shoes of heroes and embraces the roles of heroines, revelling in her own vivid embodiment of each character. These tales of love and longing are reborn as statements of self-acceptance, even self-love, in which the artist can finally see herself as the protagonist. She recalls with jubilance the moment of realisation that “I can occupy these spaces too”. At the same time, Rajgariah breathes new life into the hackneyed conventions of heteronormative cinematic tropes, moving beyond these limited representations and queering Bollywood in a celebratory and expansive vision of love.
Preetika Rajgariah
I have searched and searched for you, above and beneath the heavens (dhoonda hai dhoonda hai tujhe, aakash upar tale)
2023
173 x 122 cm
“Roshni se” from Asoka
* 10% of sales proceeds donated to Daya Houston
Preetika Rajgariah
come back soon, I sleep keeping the door open (jaldi se vapas aaja, soti hoon main daravaaja khol ke)
2023
172 x 61 cm
“Choli ke Peeche kya hai” from Khal Nayak
* 10% of sales proceeds donated to Daya Houston
Preetika Rajgariah
I’ll keep this as a memento, always decorated on my forehead (rakhoongi isko nishani banakar, maathe pe isko hamesha sajaakar)
2023
123 x 61 cm
“Hamesha tumko chaha” from Devdas
* 10% of sales proceeds donated to Daya Houston
Preetika Rajgariah
my heart is behind my blouse, my heart is behind my veil (choli mein dil hai mera, chundari mein dil hai mera)
2023
86 x 122 cm
“Choli ke Peeche kya hai” from Khal Nayak
* 10% of sales proceeds donated to Daya Houston
Preetika Rajgariah
my heart is like a traveller, you’re the destination of my heart (dil toh hai ek raahi jaana, dil ki tum manzil ho)
2023
173 x 122 cm
“Tumse Milke Dil ka” from Main Hoon Na
* 10% of sales proceeds donated to Daya Houston
Preetika Rajgariah
she came to tell her beloved (kehne piya se bas ye aayi)
2023
183 x 122 cm
“Hamesha tumko chaha” from Devdas
* 10% of sales proceeds donated to Daya Houston
Khal Nayak is a 1993 Bollywood film revolving around the pursuit of criminal Ballu by sub-Inspector Ram and his girlfriend Ganga. Its iconic song "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" explores hidden desires and secrets through its lyrics and dance routine.
Main Hoon Na is a 2004 Indian action-comedy film about a military officer, Major Ram Prasad Sharma, who goes undercover as a college student to protect the daughter of the army's general, Sanjana Bakshi, from potential threats. The song "Tumse Milke Dil Ka" is a romantic track from the "Main Hoon Na" soundtrack. It beautifully portrays the blossoming love between Major Ram and Sanjana.
Devdas is a 2002 Hindi-language period romantic drama film that follows Devdas Mukherjee, a wealthy law graduate, whose return from London to marry his childhood friend Parvati leads to family rejection, pushing him into alcoholism and emotional turmoil. The song "Hamesha Tumko Chaha" beautifully captures the depth of Devdas' feelings and the pain of unfulfilled love.
Asoka is a 2001 Indian historical drama film that narrates the life of Emperor Ashoka, who lived during the 3rd century BC, exploring his transformation from a ruthless conqueror to a benevolent and compassionate leader after witnessing the horrors of war and violence. In the song "Roshni Se", Ashoka expresses his deepest feelings for Princess Kaurwaki.
The materiality of Rajgariah’s work is loaded with symbolism, as the bodies that grace her compositions are intricately collaged with sari fabrics on an unconventional ground of recycled yoga mats.
Many of the saris used in these works are taken from her mother’s cherished collection, carrying profound personal significance and a tangible connection to the artist’s roots. Much like its Bollywood subject matter, the yoga mat carries within it contradictions, gesturing both to an ancient Indian spiritual tradition and its commodification by a Western wellness industry. The gridded texture of the yoga mat is reminiscent of the fabric’s weave, and the materiality of these works forms a tapestry of memories, allusions and lineages.
As its title suggests, Between Frustration and Fulfilment occupies a hinterland between two poles, embodying the artist’s frustration at limited representations of love but also the fulfilment that can be found through self-acceptance.
Having grown up without seeing herself as the romantic protagonist, Rajgariah is well aware of the power this holds and the radical potential of reimagining her own happily ever after, both for herself and for those who might identify with her. Through this body of work, she has carved out a realm of play, fantasy and imagination, in which love knows no bounds or preconceived notions and we are all invited to find our own place.
Preetika Rajgariah makes visually lush yoga mat paintings, intricate performances, and installations; autobiographical and often mordantly funny, her work pushes against Western aesthetics and beauty standards, centering her own body as a site and instrument of decolonization.
Natalie Dupêcher, Associate Curator of Modern Art, Menil Collection, Houston (2021)
By Fariha Róisín
Preetika Rajgariah
Read Fariha Róisín’s essay exploring the Bollywood inspirations behind Preetika Rajgariah’s bold and vibrant paintings on yoga mats.
Preetika Rajgariah (b. 1985) is a multidisciplinary artist whose works examine the complex intersections of cultural and queer identity, nostalgia, and capitalist consumption while referencing her traditional upbringing as an Indian-born American. In paintings, installations and performances, she weaves together personal experiences and culturally loaded materials, exploring the ways in which these combined (and sometimes conflicting) identities intersect.
She has been in residence at the Momentary, Oxbow, ACRE, Vermont Studio Center and the School of Visual Arts New York. The artist has exhibited and performed in spaces such as Material Art Fair in Mexico City, Untitled Miami, Asia Society Texas Center, Roots & Culture and the Donnelley Foundation in Chicago, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts and SOMArts in San Francisco, Women & Their Work in Austin, and Diverseworks Houston. She received her MFA from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and currently lives and works in Houston.
Chosen Charity
Daya
Daya empowers South Asian survivors of domestic and sexual violence through culturally specific services and educates the community to end the cycle of abuse.