/> It's not for a film. Not this time. Starting this week, Bipasha Basu is taking a month off to fulfil one of her long- cherished dreams.

"This month-long holiday fell into my lap when the Lamhaa schedule got postponed by a month. I'm now using this time to do what I always wanted to. I'm learning...bellydancing".

Bellydancing? Is it for a movie? "No no it's something I wanted to learn for a long time. I wanted to indulge in a dancing skill that didn't require too much pressure on my knees which are not doing too well. So salsa and other dance forms were out."

So is this for a film. Or for private performance with John Abraham?

"Neither, " Bipasha chortles. "I'm learning belly dancing for myself. I love dancing. I don't have really fantastic knees. And I did't want to learn any dancing that would put pressure on my knees. Of course I'd love to do belly dancing on screen too.And I'll incorporate it into my roles for sure."

Earlier this week Bipasha woke up her business manager in the middle of the night to look for a belly dancing school. "The impulse just came on me. She located a proper institute which I'm enrolling into."

Belly-dancing is not all that Bipasha is learning. "I'm also learning swimming and driving in this month-long unexpected holiday. Swimming is something I learnt a bit for Dhoom 2. For Dhoom no swimming skills, only the body was required. So I pulled it off. But I really don't know swimming and I'm finally learning it. For Goa's sake."

Bipasha explains, "Goa is my favourite holiday spot. When I get into the water in Goa I just float. Now I want to swim in the Goan waters. Not just for fun. But because it's a very good exercize. And swimming brings so much grace to your body language."

As for driving, it's more of a challenge that Bipasha has taken up to prove her boyfriend John wrong.

"As we talk I'm in the fourth day of my driving lessons. I can drive straight left and right. But I can't reverse yet. So now I can look convincing when driving. In almost all my films I'm shown driving. But I've never actually know how to drive."

Learning driving is Bipasha's way of self-empowerment. "I don't want to be dependent on others to drive me around. I want to drive myself to the gym. And if there's a medical emergency in the night I can drive my way to the hospital."

Bipasha's boyfriend thinks women make terrible drivers. "All these years John has been cribbing about women drivers. He feels they can't drive well. I had warned him he'd have to zip up the day I learnt to drive. No more cribbing about women drivers."

Laughs Bipasha, "When I tell my friends I'm learning so many things in the next one month they think I'm gone mad. But I've this unexpected month off. And I want to surprise myself."