Arjun Kapoor took to his Instagram yesterday and shared a picture of his brand new tattoo. He has gotten the Latin phrase, ‘Per Ardua Ad Astra‘ inked on his arm, and it has a very personal significance to his life. Created by Savio D’Silva, an illustrator and animator from JJ College of Art, this phrase translates to ‘through adversity to the stars’.

Explaining the tattoo, Arjun says:

Tattoos are very personal, I already have one (he had previously inked the word Maa in Hindi as a mark to his late mother Mona Kapoor) and this is my second one. I just feel it has to be a story to tell. I suffered a personal loss and have seen ups and downs despite that I continued to push through. When I started out in this industry, wanting to be an actor, a lot of people told me don’t because you are not capable. But here I am today seven years later. So, somewhere I feel from all the adversities I have managed to reach somewhere in life and that only comes from believing in yourself. This tattoo signifies my path to me.

Arjun has chosen this statement tattoo at a time when he has been pushing himself to get fitter by the day and his weight loss journey has been getting him a lot of praise and support.

He even shared a video of him getting tattooed:

Adding more about its significance, he says:

All our lives, all of us want to rise to the occasion when the time comes, but most people get pushed against a wall, with circumstances being against them. Things don’t always fall in place. But eventually, the beauty of life is to be an underdog, rise to the occasion and be able to go beyond one’s potential because you believe in yourself and believe in what you are capable of.

Now, that is something so honest and so relatable, right?! Love how the tattoo looks and so inspired by what it means. The year ahead looks great for him as the historical drama, Panipat, directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar is coming up for release.