Kamal Ghorui
As the 98th Academy Awards took place on March 15 in LA, the live broadcast happened in India in the wee hours of Monday. While Indian fans enjoyed it thoroughly, they were also disappointed because Dharmendra did not get a mention during the broadcast at Oscars 2026. While fans thought, the late actor was snubbed, the fact is that both Dharmendra and Manoj Kumar were on the ‘In Memoriam’ segment on the Oscars website. So, while the actor was not included during the live broadcast, his name was on the website.
Amidst reactions on the internet, Hema Malini has now opened up on it. She 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. He never got too many awards during his lifetime. Why should he care about the Oscars? Both of us, we were happy to be loved in our country. But awards always eluded him. Even I didn’t get any award for my best performances in Lal Patthar and Meera.”
Disappointed fans react on social media
After the Oscars telecast, many Indians got upset on social media about Dharam’s snub. One angry fan tweeted: “#Oscars or just a Hollywood PR show? 🤡🎭 Disgraceful to snub Bollywood legend Dharmendra in the ‘In Memoriam’ tribute after 60 years of cinema. 💔 Another person said, “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. Why so much hype when our icons get no recognition? After all, it’s mainly a Hollywood show, not truly international. #Oscars.”However, fans also reacted like this, without knowing that the legendary actor’s name was mentioned on the website, if not during the broadcast. In the live broadcast though, tributes went to late Hollywood icons like Annie Hall’s ‘Diane Keaton’, Schitt’s Creek’s ‘Catherine O’Hara’, actor-filmmaker Robert Redford, German actor Udo Kier, ‘When Harry Met Sally’ director Rob Reiner, The Godfather’s Robert Duvall, The French Connection’s Gene Hackman, and Top Gun’s Val Kilmer.
