- The Academy addressed backlash for omitting some celebrities from the Oscars In Memoriam segment
- Rob Mills called the In Memoriam segment the hardest part of the Oscars telecast to produce
- The segment paid tribute to major Hollywood figures like Robert Redford and Diane Keaton
The Academy has finally broken its silence on the backlash received for its In Memoriam segment, where several prominent celebrities were not mentioned—one of them being Bollywood veteran Dharmendra. Broadcast executive Rob Mills, who oversees the telecast, reacted to the criticism and explained how it is one of the most challenging parts of the event.
What's Happening
- Rob Mills told Variety India, “I think it's the hardest thing they possibly do. It always is hard when they are sort of villainised for this. Yes, there's always people who are left out. Unfortunately, we're losing more and more people, and especially, we're losing legendary people every year, so it is probably the hardest needle to thread. I do think what they did last night might have been the best In Memoriam in the history of the Oscars.”
- Further explaining what a huge task it is to put the show together, he said, “Robert Redford passed away before, and then when Diane Keaton passed away, and those are two monumental legends—this is in the fall. Now, the advantage we had too with the show was the producers were in place before last year's show so you can start planning for that now. When you lose people like that the In Memoriam really needs to be really, really done—these are legendary names for losing.”
- “And then obviously the tragedy with Rob and Michelle Reiner was just awful. When that happened, I think that's when they started to really think about, ‘Okay, how is this going to take shape? What are we going to do?'… It's a big task that I think [Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan] met the moment beautifully,” he concluded.
Details
The 98th Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles on Sunday night (early Monday morning in India), celebrating the year's best films and performances. The In Memoriam segment paid tribute to actors, filmmakers, and technicians who passed away over the past year.
The televised segment featured tributes to several major Hollywood figures, including Robert Redford, Rob Reiner, Robert Duvall, Catherine O'Hara, and Diane Keaton.
Ahead of the event, organisers indicated they planned a different approach, moving beyond the traditional video montage. This year's tribute was divided into multiple parts, with personalised segments honouring select industry figures. Director Rob Reiner was honoured by actor Billy Crystal, who starred in Reiner's acclaimed film When Harry Met Sally.
Robert Redford was honoured by Barbra Streisand, his co-star in The Way We Were. She described him as a “brilliant, subtle actor” and an “intellectual cowboy”, and concluded her tribute by singing a few lines from the film's title song.
Actor Rachel McAdams also paid tribute during the segment, honouring fellow Canadian actor Diane Keaton.
The Academy included only a limited selection of names on the broadcast. A more comprehensive In Memoriam list was later published on the official Oscars website.
That extended list acknowledged notable personalities from Indian cinema, including Dharmendra, Manoj Kumar, B. Saroja Devi and Kota Srinivasa Rao. Their photographs appeared alongside industry veterans from around the world, recognising their lasting contributions to global cinema.
About Dharmendra
Dharmendra, who would have turned 90 on 8 December, died at his Mumbai home on November 24, 2025, shortly after being discharged from Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital on November 12.
ALSO READ | Esha Deol Reacts To Dharmendra Missing From Oscars Memoriam: "Wouldn't Make A Difference To Papa"
