Twitter Reacts as Academy Awards Honor Bollywood's Departed Souls

The late Sridevi and Sashi Kapoor were honored by Hollywood during the Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles Sunday night. Twitter users in India called on local media to learn from Hollywood’s decency and abstain from sensationalizing the death of film stars and instead honor them with such tributes.
Sputnik

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The "In Memoriam" montage played during the 90th Academy Awards featured India's first female superstar Sridevi, who passed away in February, and veteran actor Sashi Kapoor, who breathed his last in December last year.

READ MORE: Millions Mourn Sudden Death of Renowned Bollywood Star

The montage was accompanied by a musical tribute by Eddie Vedder paid to all the departed souls from the cinema world. He sang Tom Petty's Room at the Top.

Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner introduced the segment by saying "there is no joy without sorrow," and she acknowledged the loss to the film world.

The Twitterati took to the social platform to interpret the tribute as a sign of arrival of the Indian film industry on the global arena. There were some who took the opportunity to lash out at the Indian media for unnecessarily sensationalizing Sridevi's death and wanted the Indian media to learn from Hollywood's way of respecting talent. The 54 year old actress recently passed away in Dubai after accidentally drowning in her hotel bathtub. The Indian media played out different conspiracy theories about the actress' sudden death, prompting condemnation by outraged fans that saw it as a mockery of her contribution to Indian cinema.

Call me a sentimental fool if you will, but I always wait for the #Oscars In Memoriam section. I knew #ShashiKapoor would be remembered at today's ceremony because he has worked abroad, but they also honoured #Sridevi today and that meant a lot. A big hug to @TheAcademy.

​Oscars. Thank you for remembering Shashi Kapoor and Sridevi. Thrilled to see the name Raj Kapoor as the executive producer of the show. We are on the threshold of world cinema! pic.twitter.com/YMkqntZ4Xz

​Oscars. Thank you for remembering Shashi Kapoor and Sridevi. Thrilled to see the name Raj Kapoor as the executive producer of the show. We are on the threshold of world cinema! pic.twitter.com/YMkqntZ4Xz

​Sridevi and Shashi Kapoor remembered at the #Oscars. An important nod to reach of Indian cinema. pic.twitter.com/RlnLp1QKUq

Other stars who were remembered at the Oscars were John Heard, Tony Anne Walker, Jane Foray, Robert Osborne, Martin Landau, Glenne Headly, Roger Moore, George A Romero and Jerry Lewis.

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