Dragan, also known as Gaga Nikolic, was and remains the perfect blend of gentleman and swagger. Swagger may not be the most suitable word since he was also a very warm and kind person. However, in the lack of a translation of the phrase šmeker, it’s as close as the English language gets.
Gaga was famously excellent at everything when it came to performance, except for singing. However, he managed to make even singing an advantage in one of his iconic movie roles, which we’ll address later.
Let’s begin without further ado and make a portrait of one of Yugoslavia’s biggest talents and stars, Dragan Nikolić.
The Beginnings of Dragan Nikolic
Like various other actors of that time, he also had a strange beginning. After not finishing his studies at the XIV Belgrade Gymnasium, he transferred to an economic high school. It was an unusual move for someone aspiring to become an artist. However, after two years, he passed the entrance exam at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, University of Arts in Belgrade. At the time, he was the youngest student at only 17 years old.
His entire real name was Dragoslav, with which he was first credited in 1964 for playing a small role in the movie The True State of the Affairs. Like all great things, he became known as Gaga by accident, when he was wrongly credited at the end of the TV movie, It’s Enough to Remain Silent. What seemed a mistake turned out to be one of the biggest names in worldwide cinema.
Domestic and International Success
It didn’t take long before Dragan Nikolic charmed both critics and audiences. His first major role was in When I Am Dead and Gone by one of the masters of filmmaking, Zivojin Pavlovic.
This is the role in which he portrays a singer who’s destined to fail because of his lack of talent. More importantly, he perfectly plays a character who’s on the margins, unable to find his place in the world. A character type he would often play excellently in various other films later in his career. This film was a major success, gaining critical acclaim and winning awards at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Pula Film Festival. Gaga won the Special Award for Acting at Pula.
During and after this, he had various successful roles in film, theater, and TV shows. And in 1974, by being one of the leaders of The Written Offs, he became more than established as one of the biggest actors.
Still, his perfect blend of popularity and masterful acting happened in 1985, when he played Gara in Life Is Beautiful by Boro Draskovic. The movie was nominated and won awards at the Venice Film Festival and the Pula Film Festival.
A Black Wave Star
Let’s go back in time to see a contradictory aspect that other great actors and actresses also had to face at the time.
Gaga’s arguably best role, and certainly my favorite, is in a movie titled Young and Healthy as a Rose from 1971, by Jovan Jovanovic. Now, the reason it’s not widely known is that this movie was forbidden, like other movies from the avant-garde Yugoslav Black Wave. Believe it or not, it was immediately censored and released again after 36 years, in 2006.
Nikolic plays Stiv, a charismatic, sexy, and flamboyant thief who becomes famous. Along with several other roles, this made him one of the leading actors of the Black Wave. The directors, performers, and everyone else involved in this wave were the new kids on the block. They were ahead of their time, avant-garde, experimental, unconventional, and became recognized worldwide.
However, even though massively different from the Eastern Bloc, Yugoslavia was still a communist country. Therefore, this film movement was, paradoxically, given credit yet also forbidden across time.
A Red Wave Star
As mentioned above, many stars had to face challenges during this time since experimentation wasn’t entirely allowed.
Like various others, Dragan Nikolic also had to move on and play roles that are available. He may have been one of the acting leaders of the Black Wave, but this wave was over. That’s how he became one of the best actors of the subsequent Red Wave. It was entirely different and had the goal not to criticize, quite the contrary, to glorify the success of the country, especially its history, via Partisan films.
He played different acclaimed roles, including in movies and TV shows. His role as Prle in the TV series The Written Offs and in the movies Written Off and The Written Off Return still have a cult status. Other such films include Maiden Bridge, Moment, etc.
The Love Story of Milena Dravic and Dragan Nikolic
Love stories like that of Milena Dravic and Dragan Nikolic are rare, especially between two massive acting stars. To give you an idea, think of it as the love story between Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward or Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.
Milena Dravic, who was also one of the biggest stars, both of the Black Wave and Red Wave, was married twice prior to Gaga. First with director Purish Djordjevic and then with director Vojislav Rakonjac. However, once she began her love story with Gaga, the rest was history. They were together until his death in 2016. She passed away only two years later, in 2018.
Milena and Dragan also acted together several times, including in Horoscope, How the Two Fools Loved Each Other, Zona Zamfirova, etc.
Gaga once famously said about Milena: ‘’She manages to change my world with one look and brighten my day with one smile. And then they ask me why I love her.”
What Made Dragan Nikolic Unique?
Dragan Nikolic was unique for many reasons. Still, the essence of his cult status and originality lies in his being a blend of a gentleman and swagger. Or, as I wrote at the beginning, a gentleman and a šmeker.
Aside from being an excellent actor, he had a specific charisma that came from his being able to be a playful gentleman. The fact that it sounds paradoxical and it’s an oxymoron makes him even more unique. Not only in his acting, but also in his private life, he had that in his genes.
Furthermore, he was also a person of charitable qualities. There’s an interesting anecdote about him and Milena that proves their originality. On one occasion, they were going out to purchase a car. Remember, this wasn’t Hollywood, and even though there were huge stars, they didn’t have a lot of money. So, on the way to buy a car, they heard that actor Sergej Trifunovic’s organization has an open donation for a kid with a rare disease. They instantly changed their minds, and instead of buying a new car, they donated all the money.
Let me put it this way. Some people, trying to define Dragan Nikolic, say that he’s Yugoslavia’s Jean-Paul Belmondo. I may be subjective, but I would say Belmondo is France’s Dragan Nikolic.
Awards Won By Dragan Nikolic
Here’s a list of some of the most significant awards won by Dragan Nikolic:
- Golden Arena for Best Leading Actor at the Pula Film Festival (several times)
- Special Award for Acting at the Pula Film Festival
- Pavle Vujisic Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Art of Acting in a National Feature Film
- Exceptional Male Role Plaquette at Filmski Susreti
- Best Actor – Car Konstantin Award at Filmski Susreti (twice)
- Zivojin Zika Pavlovic Lifetime Achievement Award at LIFFE
Nikolic won numerous other awards; in fact, he won almost every award possible in ex-Yugoslavia and Serbia. Some of the movies he played also had European and worldwide success. There’s even a Dragan Nikolic monument in his honor.
Dragan Nikolić Moves and TV Shows
Here’s a list of some of the most important movies and TV shows Gaga acted in:
- When I Am Dead and Gone
- Young and Healthy as a Rose
- National Class Category Up to 785 Ccm
- Life Is Beautiful
- Who’s Singin’ Over There?
- Banovic Strahinja
- Balkan Express
- The Tour
- Ivko’s Feast
- Zona Zamfirova
- Labyrinth
- Cabaret Balkan
- The Tragic Burlesque
- The Last Lap in Monza
- The Meeting Point
- Unseen Wonder
- Moment
- Written Off
- The Written Off Return
- The Written Offs
- Grey Home
Final Words on Dragan Nikolic and His Career
Dragan Nikolic is more than an excellent actor who also became famous. He is a symbol of a time when artists, especially actors, were highly appreciated in society. He remains a face that brings warmth to millions of people when they see him on TV, in the cinema, or on their laptop.
Unfortunately, he is no longer with us, but his legacy remains intact. If you haven’t seen any of his performances, I recommend you begin with the following five movies:
- Young and Healthy as a Rose
- Life Is Beautiful
- When I Am Dead and Gone
- National Class Category Up to 785 Ccm
- Who’s Singin’ Over There?
framebyframecritic 