Actress Jasna Beri, also known as Jasna Ornela Bery, walked the red carpet at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, and the public has only recently learned that she was the famous singer's great love.
Actress Jasna Beri, better known to the public by her stage name Jasna Ornela Bery, appeared on the red carpet at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival last night. Her arrival drew special attention because it was only recently revealed that she was Zdravko Čolić's (75) first love, a fact that had been kept quiet for decades.
The romance between the then-young Čolić and Beri took place in the 1970s in Sarajevo, where they both lived. The singer has always kept his private life away from the public eye, and his heart has belonged to his wife Aleksandra for more than two decades, with whom he has daughters Una and Lara.
The actress first spoke about this love story 47 years after it happened. In an interview with Dnevni avaz, she described how they met very young, going to Skenderija, to the Youth Center, a place that gathered musicians, actors, and painters.
"We met very young, a long time ago. We used to go to Skenderija, to the Youth Center, which gathered talents, and there were not only musicians but also actors and painters. We hung out, and that's where I fell in love for the first time. We all have first loves, and they will always have a part in my heart that is reserved only for him. Especially because I had a wonderful experience that I will remember for the rest of my life," said Jasna Beri.
After their paths diverged, they met again for the first time in Belgrade, only after the war.
It was during that emotional encounter, as she described it, that Beri revealed a detail that had been largely unknown to the public: Čolić dedicated one of his most beautiful ballads, "Noć mi te duguje," to her.
"It was a very emotional meeting. Zdravko Čolić is a person who radiates positive energy. He has that something. Now, after so many years, he has managed to keep it. He is a good man. I loved that nerve in him, that spark in his eye that never stops. It is still a love that you cannot caress or hold by the hand. Zdravko will always remain everyone's and no one's," the actress recalled.
Earlier this year, Beri attended Čolić's concert in Sarajevo, and when the singer spotted her in the audience, he came down from the stage and warmly embraced her.
Jasna Beri is best known for her roles in films such as "On the Path," "In the Land of Blood and Honey," "Snow," and "Grbavica," and she has also appeared in popular TV series like "Lud, zbunjen, normalan" and "Bitange i princeze."
