of The 98th Academy Awards it was a night filled with towering tributes and a notable omission that has left a global audience divided. As Hollywood gathered to celebrate its own, the “In Memoriam” segment, usually a moment of collective grace, sparked much frustration across the Indian subcontinent.
Despite a career spanning over six decades and a filmography that defined generations of Indian cinema, Dharmendra was conspicuously absent from the montage.
The snub was felt especially acutely given the Academy’s recent record of involvement. In previous years, the Dolby Theater stopped by to honor icons like Irrfan Khan, Bhanu Athaiya, Sridevi and Shashi Kapoor. In social networks, the reaction has been fast. A fan on X (formerly Twitter) captured the mood:
“The Oscars showed a list of people who died last year, but did not mention Dharmendra – a legend who gave his entire life to cinema. Why the noise when our icons are not recognized?”
As the international community felt the sting of exclusion, the room inside the Dolby Theater was moved to tears by a massive, multi-actor tribute to Rob Reiner.
The segment was anchored by Billy Crystal, who delivered a moving eulogy for the director, who passed away in late 2025. “It was exciting to watch him evolve from a great comic actor to a master storyteller,” noted Crystal, standing alongside a “Who’s Who” of Hollywood royalty.
“Rob’s movies will last a lifetime,” Crystal concluded, “because they were about what makes us laugh and cry and what we aspire to be.”
The evening also saw a deeply personal tribute to two of cinema’s most distinctive voices: Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton.
Rachel McAdams took to the stage, visibly emotional as she spoke about her “Canadian peer” O’Hara. “She made us laugh while we cried,” McAdams said, paying tribute to a woman whose talent “expanded the world for all of us.” Turning her attention to Keaton, McAdams noted that there isn’t an actress of her generation who isn’t “inspired and fascinated” by Keaton’s sheer singularity.
2026’s In Memoriam also gave nods to the late Robert Redford, Val Kilmer and visionary Giorgio Armani.
