Mumbai, Oct 29 (IANS): Singer Shankar Mahadevan compared 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champ' contestant Harsh Sikandar with the popular singer Master Saleem, who is known for his Sufi and devotional style of singing.

His performance on the track 'Mast Qalandar' took Shankar down the memory lane when he heard Master Saleem singing the same track in his mesmerising voice.

He said: "A few years ago, one day I was watching a Punjabi channel and I heard a guy singing at a Jagrata. He was so good that the audience was literally enjoying his singing and I was just amazed by his voice that I wanted to find out who the singer is and make him sing my then-upcoming song 'Mast Kalandar'.

"Shankar, who is among the panel of judges along with Anu Malik and Neeti Mohan, was so impressed with the contestant that he called him 'Master Saleem 2'.

He continued the conversation saying: "Later, we got to know it was none other than the famous singer Master Saleem. We then flew him down from Punjab and that's how we got this famous song 'Mast Kalandar'. After listening to Harsh's performance today, I feel that we have a Master Saleem 2 in the making."

'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champ' hosted by Bharti Singh airs on Zee TV