Chandran's next venture "Ormakal Undayirikkanam" (1995) starred Bharath Gopi, Mammootty, Master Nitin, Nedumudi Venu and Sreenivasan. It portrayed the rise of the Communists to power in 1957 and the Vimochana Samaram (Liberation Struggle) of 1959. The film earned a national and a state award to Chandran. Film critic Kozhikodan included the film on his list of the ten best Malayalam movies of all time. With critical success coming back to back, Chandran wrote and directed "Mangamma". Produced by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), it was screened at the Zanzibar International Film Festival. The film won many major awards, including national and state awards.