Esha Deol REACTS to Oscars 2026 snubbing Dharmendra from 'In Memoriam' segment; 'Life was never about recognition for him'

After Hema Malini, Esha Deol has reacted to the Oscars skipping Dharmendra in the In Memoriam televised segment at the 98th Academy Awards. Fans of the actor thought he was snubbed; however, the veteran Hindi cinema legend was remembered along with 300 other members of the global film fraternity on the Oscars' website. Now, amid the chatter, daughter Esha expressed her thoughts. In conversation with Variety India, Esha Deol said, "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." In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Hema Malini shared, "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."The veteran actress-politician further added, "Dharamji was known and recognized 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."Hema also stated that she didn't get any award for her best performances in movies like 'Lal Patthar' and 'Meera'.Meanwhile, she told HT City, "The love and respect people have for Dharmendra means a great deal to us. Oscars should have mentioned Dharam ji's name certainly." Hollywood legends like Rob Reiner, Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, and more were honoured in a personalised In Memoriam segment of the Oscars 2026, which ran around 15 minutes longer than previous years. Even after the extended time, netizens noticed that the names of many stars were not included in the televised clip.However, it has been reported that Dharmendra, along with other Indian film stars were remembered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on their website. Actors including Saroja Devi, Manoj Kumar, Jayasree Kabir, Kota Srinivasa Rao, and documentary filmmaker S. Krishnaswamy were all featured on the list.