Highlights:
- No mention of emblematic legends, Lata Mangeshkar and Dilip Kumar at Academy Awards’ In Memoriam section leaves fans baffled and agitated.
- Fans, furious over the legend’s absence from the tribute, point out the prevalence of colonialism.
- The segment also forgot to mention comedian-actor Bob Saget who passed away in January this year.
No Oscars ceremony is complete without the ‘In Memoriam’ segment which extends a tribute to the treasured and noteworthy members of the film industry that we lost across the globe. Those remembered in this year’s Oscar In Memoriam section were Sidney Poitier (first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor); William Hurt (received Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year for his debut movie); film and television director, Ivan Reitman; American actress and comedian Betty White; “the busiest actor in Hollywood”, Ned Thomas Beatty; American actress, Sally Kellerman (famous for her role in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H that earned her an Oscar nomination) and American actor Dean Stockwell who had a career spanning seven decades. Alongside them were the mentions of legendary filmmakers, Peter Bogdanovich and Richard Donner.
The majority of the actors who were mentioned in the tribute hailed from the Hollywood industry although the French star, Jean-Paul Belmondo was remembered by the Academy.
It comes as a surprise that Indian iconic legends, Lata Mangeshkar and Dilip Kumar were not mentioned in the ‘In Memoriam’ section and this sent Twitter into a rage. “Why was the Indian Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar omitted from Oscars tribute. She is a legend. Bizzare and inexcusable,” tweeted an enraged fan. Lata Ji passed away at the age of 92 on the 6th of February, 2022. She was diagnosed with Covid-19 and pneumonia following which she was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital on January 8.
Lata Ji began singing at the tender age of 13 and in a career spanning over seven decades she recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films. She recorded songs in more than 36 regional Indian and foreign languages. She was conferred with the Bharat Ratna. India’s highest civilian honour in 2001. She was also the recipient of three National Film Awards among numerous other honours that were bestowed upon her. Some of her songs that still send chills up the spine are “Aye Mere Vatan Ke Logo”, “Bablu Pyare” and “Lag Ja Gale” among many others.
Here are some tweets by fans who found the omission of Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar from the ‘In Memoriam’ section bizarre and unpardonable.
The amazing world-record setting #LataMangeshkar (who passed away from Covid) sang more songs for more movies than shown in all Oscars combined. Yet, the #Oscars2022 #Inmemoriam did not see it fit to honor her even with a mention. Sometimes, I think, colonialism still lives on…
— Neha (@44Neha) March 28, 2022
Also Read: Oscars 2022: Will Smith Wins His First Academy Award; CODA Wins Best Film; See Full List Of Winners
#Oscars2022 #LataMangeshkar of #Bollywood fame – Nightingale of India – not even mentioned among the movie folks who passed away in the last year.
— Rema Deo (@Remadeo) March 28, 2022
Why was the Indian Nightingale @mangeshkarlata omitted from #Oscars tribute. She is a legend!
— Aayush Joshi । आयुष जोशी (@aajoshi0607) March 28, 2022
Bizzare and inexcusable!….#LataMangeshkar
This is incredibly insensitive of #Oscars2022 management.
— rajan mahan (@rajanmahan) March 28, 2022
If the #Oscars are a celebration of #global and not #western or #Hollywood cinema, ignoring #DilipKumar n #LataMangeshkar is deplorable, unforgiveable. https://t.co/mmZe1UNiIn
