The 98th Academy Awards held in Los Angeles on Sunday night honoured the best from Hollywood's 2025 slate, including an extended In Memoriam segment. However, Indian fans were left miffed as Bollywood legend Dharmendra failed to receive a mention.
The In Memoriam segment, the longest in the awards show's history, featured two segments honouring Rob Reiner and Robert Redford. Director Rob Reiner was honoured by Billy Crystal, while Barbra Streisand paid tribute to Robert Redford, calling him a 'brilliant, subtle actor' and an 'intellectual cowboy.'
The omission of Dharmendra, who died in November 2025 at the age of 89, was met with criticism from fans, who noted the Academy's push for more inclusion and international appeal. Fans from India took to social media to express their disappointment, with one writing, 'The Oscars showed a list of people who passed away last year, yet didn’t mention Dharmendra—a legendary Indian actor who gave his entire life to cinema.'
Dharmendra's exclusion was not an isolated incident, as several other notable actors and technicians, including James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Robert Carradine, June Lockhart, and Brigitte Bardot, were also omitted from the segment.
