With over 400 works by more than 70 photographers, there is no doubting the scale and ambition of Where Three Dreams Cross: 150 Years of Photography from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Six years in the planning, it features an astonishing array of images. Fine and amateur photography, social realism, photojournalism, studio photography, and portraiture – it’s all here, much of it to be admired.

In many ways, it’s remarkable that this is the first major exhibition of contemporary and historic photography by India, Pakistan and Bangladesh photographic artists. By the early 1850s photography was well-established in the region - the diversity of its peoples and traditions, of its architecture and terrain offered up an amazing breadth of subject matter. However, until now, discourses have centered on Western (especially British) images of mysterious and mystical India; the works of the locals have rarely been the central focus.

The exhibition is arranged thematically in five sections rather than by era or country. The Portrait shows the evolution of self-representation; The Family explores close bonds and relationships through early and contemporary portraits; The Body Politic charts political moments, movements and campaigns; The Performance focuses on the golden age of Indian cinema, performance and artistic practices; while The Street looks at the built environment and social documentary.

In the The Performance, images of legendary Bollywood players, such as Waheeda Rheman and Raj Kumar, from the 1950s and 1960s are a strong introduction to the exhibition. Opposite these famous figures, large, striking pictures of a less established actor, blue-ed up to play Hindu deity Krishna, dominate one wall, gathering large audiences round them.

Despite the gods and actors, there is a refreshing lack of cliché in the show. Sure, there are pictures of Mother Theresa and Indira Gandhi, but alongside them are glimpses into other lives. Ram Rahman’s wrestler series is a moving pictorial record of young wrestlers in India, from 1980 to 1998. There are pictures of milk vendors from Mumbai in the 1990s, school children from Kerala in the 1980s, cricket spectators from Lahore in 2008. In the Body Politic, there are shocking depictions of political upheaval, most notably of the bloody year when Bangladesh and Pakistan become separate countries.

The Family section was for me the most intriguing and unexpected. Instead of the usual images of extended families and harems, there are albums of Indian Hijras c1880s, Karachi lady boys from 200 and pictures of Indian courtesans at the turn of the 20th century alongside Nony Singhs’s personal and witty family photos from Srinager in the 1960s.

The approach used throughout is to eschew particular emphases for an embrace of multifarious points of view. The effect conjures up the throngs at a Delhi airport, Bangladeshi shopping centre or Lahore bus station. There is so much to see here, one trip will probably not be enough. Allow lots of time, take water and prepare for jostling crowds.