Samten Dhondup is amongst the few Opera Masters in Exile, whose outreach and influence in the field of performing arts has been well known all over. Indeed, this role in life also translated into a few film roles. He was born to a Tibetan Guerrilla father and a farmer mother in Mustang, Nepal. His childhood was spent witnessing the resistance fighters in Mustang. After the closure of the camps in 1972, his father shifted to Kathmandu, working in a carpet factory. Around the time he was 9 years old, he was sent for schooling to the TCV, Dharamsala. His romance with performing and acting started as an excuse to leave attending classes. When he asked the principal to be sent to the TIPA for education in Tibetan Opera, he was asked what basic qualification did he have for it? He responded that as a child he played the flute. Soon, the TCV sponsored his three-year course at the TIPA.

Through the years, he has travelled with the troupe performing throughout the world and now mentors the next generation of artists at TIPA.