3 min readNew DelhiMar 16, 2026 08:48 PM IST
The absence of veteran actor Dharmendra from the In Memoriam segment at the 98th Academy Awards has sparked criticism from several Indian celebrities, including his wife and actor Hema Malini and veteran star Shatrughan Sinha. On Monday, during the ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the Academy paid tribute to several global film personalities who passed away over the past year, including Robert Redford, Rob Reiner and Diane Keaton, among others. However, the segment did not mention the legendary Bollywood star, who has had a career spanning more than six decades.
Reacting to the omission, Hema Malini told Bollywood Hungama, “It is a shame, of course. A shame for them to have overlooked an actor who means so many things to so many people in many parts of the world. Dharamji was known and recognised everywhere.”
She further added, “He never got too many awards during his lifetime. Why should he care about the Oscars? Both of us were always happy to be loved in our country. But awards always eluded him. Even I didn’t receive awards for some of my best performances in Lal Patthar and Meera.”
Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha, who worked with Dharmendra in films such as Blackmail and Dost, told Variety, “It is a matter of shame for them if they don’t honour Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and now Dharmendra. Why does it matter to us? They are entrenched in our hearts forever.”
Meanwhile, Dharmendra’s daughter Esha Deol shared that the omission would not have affected her father. “I don’t think it would ever make a difference to Papa. His heart has always been far too big to worry about such things. For him, life was never about recognition or status—it was about love, kindness and the place he held in people’s hearts,” she said.
This is not the first time a legendary Indian artiste has been left out of the Oscars’ In Memoriam segment. In the past, the Academy faced criticism for excluding Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.
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Reacting to Lata Mangeshkar’s absence from the tribute in 2022, actor Kangana Ranaut wrote on Instagram Stories, “We must take strong stands against any local awards that claim to be international and yet ignore or intentionally sideline legendary artists because of their race or ideologies. Our media should totally boycott these biased local events that claim to be global awards.”
