The son of a humble rural family from Trongsa in Central Bhutan, Nguldrup Dorjikss spent his early childhood in the grazing fields of his village, whipping herds of cows from one field to another and singing to the tunes of whatever Dzongkha song that would come on his almost dilapidated battery-supported radio transmitter. Perhaps those moments were the first steps of his “journey of a thousand miles” into a fulfilling career in the booming entertainment industry, and there was no looking back. Popularly called by his friends and teachers as “Dang-dung Nidup Dorji” during his 9 years of higher studies at the Institute of Language & Cultural Studies, Nguldrub laid the foundation of his professional career while studying there. The years that followed his graduation from this institute established him as one of the hottest local singers in the country.
In 1997, he played the lead role in Bhutan’s first commercial feature film, Jikdrel, which went on to become a major national blockbuster. In about 10 years, Nguldrub has featured as lead character in 17 feature films and has written over 11 film scripts. Today he is not only a popular singer but also the most sought-after actor.
Inspired by his own success and the tremendous goodwill and support from his family and fans, Nguldrub started his own entertainment company in 2002. He named it Jikdrel Trophel, after the immense success of his first film. In 2006, he opened Jikss Trokhang, a restaurant cum entertainment pub, which is indeed the best such places in town today.