Bollywood singer Kumar Sanu says "Indian Idol", the music contest hosted by entertainment channel Sony to discover and promote fresh talent in the country, was nothing but a gimmick.

The 49-year-old singer from Kolkata, who was discovered by ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh and got his break with Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt's romantic film "Aashiqi", is in Kathmandu for two shows.

Sanu, who started out singing songs popularised by legendary singer Kishore Kumar and had to struggle for years before he could gain a foothold in Mumbai, is dismissive about "Indian Idol".

Abhijit Sawant won the show with a Rs.1 crore (Rs.10 million) contract as well as a car and a vacation in Switzerland.

"It's just a gimmick by these channels to make some money," said Sanu, born Kedarnath Bhattacharjee. "There have been such shows in the past too. But where are those winners today?"

Sanu went on to give the example of one of the pioneering pop contests, "Meri Awaaz Suno".

"The winner was even signed up by Bollywood director Yash Chopra to sing in his film 'Mohabbatein'. But who remembers him today? There are hundreds of such singers in Mumbai today," Sanu said.

Sanu, who made it to the Guinness Book of Records by recording 28 songs in a single day, says his mission is to revive the nostalgia that used to be present in the Bollywood songs of yore.

The singer ran into trouble on his arrival in Kathmandu Thursday. His entourage claimed while they had agreed to do one show at the Dasarath Rangashala in Kathmandu, the organisers had sold tickets for a second soiree at a five-star hotel without informing Sanu.

They threatened to pull out of the show until the organisers handed them over the money agreed upon as well as the troupe's return tickets to India. However, the dispute was resolved at the mediation of Nepalese music director Sambhujit Baskota, who had signed up Sanu for some of his songs.