‘Bekim Fehmiu gave me his role in this film’ – Bogdan Diklić reflects on half a century of his career: ‘Karanović didn’t want me for the series Fallen Headlong’

Last week the actor Bogdan Diklić was presented with the Special Ernest Award in Sombor for his contribution so far and to come in film art. In the course of half a century of his career, he has played more than 200 roles in film, television and theatre, and the day after the ceremony, on Espreso U 11, in conversation with Dejan Dabić, selector of the Sombor Film Festival, he recalled filming The Marathon Family and revealed which major role Bekim Fehmiu handed over to him.

At the opening, the audience could watch the film Small World by Miloš Radović.

“I would have suggested the same. I love that film. I remember when we were filming, the temperature was between 39 and 41 degrees. I was about 25 years younger than I am today. My daughter Sofija came to the filming with her mum and we celebrated her first birthday there,” the actor revealed.

Bogdan Diklić says that Small World is one of the best scripts he has ever read in his life:

“I couldn’t wait for us to start working on it. It slipped out publicly that I said it was the best film. Some directors and scriptwriters seriously held that against me.”

His partner in the film was his classmate Lazar Ristovski.

“He’s Ras, and I’m Kos. We didn’t compete. We did those scenes well, probably out of sheer struggle. It was extremely hot,” the actor emphasised.

Dabić told the audience that, in his opinion, Bogdan’s best role is that of Zaim in Pjer Žalica’s film Fuse.

“Hardly anyone knows that this role was supposed to be played by Bekim Fehmiu. He withdrew. I don’t know the reason, but it wasn’t about the fee. The plan was for me to play Stanko, who was later played by Emir Hadžihafizbegović. I phoned Bekim. He wished me lots of luck on the shoot and he wrote me a beautiful letter. He left it for me at the porter’s desk of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre. I still keep it today,” said Diklić, who considers his role in the film A Soldier’s Love as the start of his career.

“I filmed The Sarajevo Assassination and The Girls’ Bridge before that. On The Sarajevo Assassination set I saw a camera for the first time, and I regard it as my zeroth film. We filmed A Soldier’s Love in Požarevac. Both films were shown the same evening in Pula. That was the first time I saw Josip Broz Tito. He only watched Veljko Bulajić’s film and then left. It is known that he watched all films at Brioni. He surely watched A Soldier’s Love as well,” recalled Diklić, who headed from Sombor straight to the Pula Festival to receive the Fabijan Šovagović Award.

Part of the cast of the series Fallen Headlong

Great popularity came with his role in the series Fallen Headlong.

“I was in my third year of studies. Dragan Kresoja came to photograph us actors. I didn’t want to go for the photo session. They called me for a test shoot. The role was called Bogdan Simić Boca. I was a kid. Tremendously nervous. It was no good. The director Srđan Karanović didn’t want to take me for the series. There are three versions of how he invited me back for another test shoot. The first is that Goran Marković persuaded him, the second Dragan Kresoja, and the third that the director of photography Živko Zalah did. Branko Cvejić and I filmed together. Karanović called me to his office beforehand and I played my scenes free of tension. After the filming, without even looking at the material, the director told me: ‘Don’t shave your moustache.’ That was a good sign. I went off to Bjelovar. It was Sunday. Dragan Kresoja told me I’d got the role of Boca. My parents were overjoyed. Dad opened a bottle. I drank a spritzer with him for the first time,” revealed Diklić.

Bogdan Diklić in Sombor

When he worked on The National Class, Diklić was 25 years old

“I am most sentimentally attached to that film. I remember my jobs by the atmosphere on set. When everything on set is beautiful, the film never turns out well. I’m no longer 25. I was fascinated to be working with Gaga Nikolić, Olivera Marković and Bata Stojković, whom I had watched in the cinema. I felt incredibly important. It’s not always easy to verbalise feelings,” admitted Diklić.

A few years later the film The Marathon Family achieved cult status, just like The National Class.

“I was not quite 28 years old, and what I’m about to say isn’t known. Slobodan Šijan had two line-ups for the film. I received the script 14 days before shooting. He chose us. I had seen the play of the same name at Atelje 212 no fewer than 28 times. Milan Gutović played Mirko. In the play he doesn’t have as much space as in the film. I never dreamed I’d play that,” said Diklić, who that year at Pula received an ovation he still remembers.

“The Arena was full. I felt like George Harrison and as if the Beatles or the Stones were walking on stage. Nothing like that had ever happened after a screening. Someone standing next to me said: ‘What is this?’ It was the time of autographs, not selfies. I gave my first autographs thanks to that film,” the famous actor recalled.

Diklić remembered working with Kusturica because he acted in his first TV films.

“Emir always listened to the actor. We would shoot one of his shots and one of mine and then choose the better one in editing. I didn’t work with him after that. He called me for the film Do You Remember Dolly Bell? as well. I was in Bjelovar then. It was a role of about six days of shooting. The script arrived, but he never called again,” said Diklić with a smile.

At the end of the conversation he also answered our question about his role as Lazar Maraš in the film and series South Wind:

“For me that role was a challenge. The film is sometimes blamed for people killing each other, and they mention the Ribnikar case. South Wind does not promote crime, but the opposite. Maraš and those people are unhappy. What good is money when your head is on the block?”

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He believes that Miloš Biković, Luka Grbić and Miodrag Radonjić also gave brilliant performances.

“I have good concentration, and I rarely laugh in a take. With Radonjić I did it twice. We were shooting a scene where I say to him:

‘You’re still as much of a fool as before.’ The close-up was on him. I barely held it in. He was dead serious. Grbić is excellent too. Some people may not like that film and series, but they are well and honestly made,” concluded Diklić.

With his daughter Sofija

On his first great love: I fell in love with an air hostess; she gave me a carton of cigarettes as a gift

One question from the audience at the coffee with the actor was to recall his mother and his first great love.
“You don’t have that much money (laughs). It was 1976, after the Pula Festival. I fell head over heels in love with an air hostess. She gave me a carton of cigarettes as a gift. We saw each other and held hands. She phoned me every day from around the world to Bjelovar and I chirped back. One day it stopped. I was sad. I was lying down and there was a radio programme on the First Programme of Radio Zagreb. Mum was cooking lunch. Zdravko Čolić’s song Take, take everything you gave me came on, and Mum added: ‘That little carton of cigarettes from the festival,’” said Diklić.