Born to late Badrinath Dhunju and Uttam Maya Dhunju, Gauri Shanker Dhunju is a well known cinematographer in Nepali Movie Industry. He was born on 29th June 1958 at Kavre, Nepal. He had completed Intermediate In Commerce from Public Youth Campus, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Dhunju's father was a businessman and had always wanted his son to carry out the family business. But, fate had some other plans for him. Dhunju recalls, "I had a great interest in filming from my early days. I used to observe my uncle operating his camera. It was first ever that I had seen camera in my life. It was really a fascinating experience. However, I was not able to follow that path and I began to work for my father's business. It was later that I actually began my career in filming."

It was only in 1977 that Dhunju got an opportunity to pursue his dreams professionally. National Geographic team member George was filming in Nepal and Dhunju joined the team as a camera operator. This job proved to be a good platform to fulfill his passion. George noticed his dedication for the field and provided him his own camera so that he could explore himself. Later, he was given a certificate for his excellent work.

Although, he already had a brief encounter with his passion, he was not able to continue pursuing. That led him back to his father's business and later in 1979 he got a chance to visit Hongkong where he bought his first ever camera, Super 8. He remembers the day as one of his happiest moment.

After returning from Hongkong,  he began to shoot Video Films with the help of his friend Kiran Pradhan. The trend of Video Films was on the rise and many film-makers were exploring the field. Some of his video films from that time were "Prayas", "Abhilasha","Sambandha", etc. Later in 1987, he was awarded as the best cinematographer. He was well-known for his work and there were many offers on his way.

One of the milestones in his career is his association with Maha Sanchar. He began working with the team in 1985 for the Tele-Serial "Raat". It proved out to be one of the successful associations. The team came up with hit Tele-Serials like "Laal Purja", "Sur Besur", "Ban Paale", "Kantipur", "Wrong Number", etc. Till date he is actively working in Maha-Sanchar as DOP (Director of Photography).

When asked about his inspiration, he recalls the creativity of Binod Pradhan. As a cameraman, he always wondered how beautiful and natural the frames of Binod Pradhan looked in the screen. He was very fond of his work and used to visit the shooting sets of Pradhan whenever he got a chance. Working with Binod Pradhan in one of the ad-film is also a moment he cherishes.

Dhunju remembers the experience shooting his first movie. His first movie as a cinematographer was "Kastoori". It is also the first Nepali Film to be shot outside the country. A part of the movie was shot in London.  He remembers one incident where he tries to explain the producer of the movie, Binod Manandhar,  that he had no experience with the celluloid camera. He only had an experience shooting the Video Films. However, due to the consistent pressure, he agrees to shoot the movie. He recalls, "I gained a lot from the movie Kastoori. It is the project that made me who I am today".

Dhunju himself had contributed a lot to this Nepali Movie Industry. His famous works as a DOP include "Janmabhoomi","Miteri Gaun", "Ghumto", "Shirish Ko Phool", etc. He won a National Film Award as best Cinematographer for the movie " Shirish Ko Phool" in 2013. He had played a very influencing role in the beginning  phase of this industry. His crew members like Purushottam Pradhan, Dirgha Gurung, Sambhu Sapkota, Dik Khadka etc. are a well known name these days.

Nowadays, he is busy shooting projects for Maha Sanchar and is also a DOP of a regular TV show aired in Himalayan Television.